


All in the Past

by Darky_Parky



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Animal Death, Apocalypse, Chapters are long, Comedy, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, Handsome Jack (Borderlands) Being an Asshole, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, M/M, Mystery, Nightmares, No Smut, One-Sided Attraction, Past Relationship(s), Phantom Itching, Plot Twists, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Borderlands 3 (Video Game), Resurrection, Romance, Sirens, Slow Burn, Smoking, Some characters won't be in the tags ;), Suggestive Themes, Supportive Zane Flynt, Surprise Characters - Freeform, Swearing, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tales From the Borderlands, Time Travel, Trans Rhys (Borderlands), Trauma, Will each character have an intro tagline like in the games?, Written Before Bounty of Blood, absolutely - Freeform, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:35:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 83,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darky_Parky/pseuds/Darky_Parky
Summary: Rose Thorne thought that she had escaped Handsome Jack after the heist of the Jackpot. . . but looking down at the gun before her now snuffs out the little hope she had. Because it's the Handsome Goddamn Jackhammer. And it has everything she ever feared.
Relationships: Amara/Moze (Borderlands), Brick/Mordecai (Borderlands), Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Original Female Character(s), Mad Moxxi (Borderlands)/Original Female Character(s), Rhys/Sasha (Borderlands), Zane Flynt/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. In the Arms of a Psycho

**Author's Note:**

> Putting this first chapter out to see if it can get any legs on this site and we'll see how it goes. I have written much in advanced and it's really up to you guys if I post it all. I am open to criticisms if you have any and don't be afraid to leave a comment I really appreciate them!

Nothing about the gun in particular was conventionally disturbing. It was an above average Hyperion SMG. Built with its own shield, damage and accuracy are a bit shit, but it makes up for it in elemental damage and the fact that when thrown it explodes. A very valuable gun whether you're fighting against bandits or need some quick cash.

It's highly rare to find something like that especially in the arms of a psycho, so I suppose from an outsider's point of view you could consider Rose lucky. Though, if you would ask her, she would feverishly disagree.

_Rose Thorne, Wilted but Wiser._

She's a middle aged woman with a steel prosthetic hand. She has dark, curly hair pulled into a loose ponytail and her skin color is best described as caramel. The circles under her eyes seem to never ease.

You can find her near a little hut on Eden-6, usually accompanied by a fully grown Skag and a Jakobs pistol. If you could time travel you can also find her on Pandora, venturing with the Crimson Raiders on the hunt for The Great Vault. And if you went further back. . . well, you'd have to catch a ride on some sort of spaceship in hope of catching a glimpse of her.

Though, if you ever did see her then she’d refuse it. Even before Helios had crashed she was cutting any and all ties she had to that place. . . . At least that’s what she thought. The Handsome Jackpot had proved well that she was still no less of a legend than Handsome Jack himself. And that is not something so easily outlived. Still she tries.

Looking down at the gun before her, however, snuffs out the little hope she has of overcoming her title. For it is not your run of the mill Hyperion SMG. It’s the Handsome Goddamn Jackhammer and it contains everything Rose has ever feared.

“Hey. Hey! Don’t act like you’re not there, I know you are.” Rose could hear the blood pounding in her ears. “C’mon, kiddo, I don’t have all day.” Rose remained silent. “Listen, I get it, you must be asking all sorts of questions. ‘Is that really Handsome Jack?’ ‘Man of my dreams?’ ‘Love of my life?’ Well, I’ll tell you what, cupcake, you pick me up and we can talk about me all you want, alright?”

Rose didn’t exactly know if this would work, but she was willing to take a chance. She reloaded her pistol as the gun continued to talk. “Hello! Earth to weirdo, I’m talking to you!” Pulling down the hammer, she pointed her gun at the SMG. “You know, lotta people would kill to be in your position right now. I mean, how many people can say they met me and lived? You’re getting the opportunity of a lifetime here, kiddo.”

Rose pulled the trigger and much to her surprise, the gun took the bullet. She took out her ECHO device and dialed up a number.

Gun shots could be heard on the other line. “Love? I’m kinda in the middle of somethin’ here- die ya yellow-bellied bastards!”

“I need you to come over,” she said calmly.

“Erm-“ the clicking of an empty gun could be heard, “shite!” Bullets whistled in the air. “Lass, I don’t think I can come o’er. Fightin’ wit’ Maliwan right now and it looks like an all-nighter.” Something exploded and Zane cackled. “Atta boy!” Zane cheered to what Rose assumes is his clone. “I’ll, uh, I’ll call ya back, yeah?"

“He’s back, Zane.”

“He? He who?” Zane asked over the booming sound of gunfire.

The gun chuckled, its voice slightly warped. “I didn’t know idiots could yodel.” Taking in a sharp breath, Rose shot three more times. “Sorry. . .” it said, its voice becoming more and more distorted as it spoke, “couldn’t resist.” The gun went quiet once again.

There was a long pause on Zane’s end. “I’m comin’ o’er.” Zane hung up, leaving Rose with the gun.

She stared long and hard at it before placing it into her travel bag, making her way back into her hut. Absentmindedly, she went to scratch her left hand only to remember that she no longer had it.

Rose sighed. “I can’t have one normal goddamn day to myself, can I? ‘People are turning into plants’, ‘the Great Vault is real’, ‘we’re heisting the Handsome Jackpot’, ‘my dead, psychopathic ex is in a gun’! What next, borderlands?! Huh? You gotta run out of material sometime!” She sighed. “I’m talking to myself,” she muttered. “The first step to becoming a psycho.” Rose scrunched up her nose at her own sentence. “Ooh, that sounded too much like foreshadowing.”

She walked up the steps to her hut and unlocked her door. She stepped in, immediately being greeted by

 _Daisy, Rose’s Sprout_.

Rose smiled softly, patting the top of her Skag’s head. “Hey, girly, missed me?” Daisy barked in greeting. Rose moved past Daisy to go set out her finds on the kitchen counter to sort out later.

That left the Jackhammer, still sitting alone in her bag. Rose carefully took it out and after looking over it she decided to unload it. Loaded guns aren’t safe on their own, put what seems to be an artificial intelligence of a famous psychopathic murderer into one and you have yourself a crime scene waiting to happen.

Once done, Rose set down the gun on the dinner table. Daisy put her front paws onto the table and growled. “Down. Down,” Rose commanded in a warning tone. Daisy didn’t budge. Rose spotted a psycho’s mask lying in the Skag’s bed. “Here.” Rose picked up the mask, taking the attention away from the gun. “You want the mask? You want this mask?”

Daisy hopped down from the table, panting excitedly. “Go get it!” Rose tossed the mask into Daisy’s bed. Daisy ran over and occupied herself with gnawing on the mask. “When did you get that mask?” Rose whispered.

“You got the Skag, Rosebud, you tell me.” Rose jumped, turning to the gun, taking out her own pistol and taking aim. “Shoot at me all you want, sweetheart, it’s not gonna make a difference.”

"How are you still alive?"

"Eh, wouldn't call this 'alive', really."

"I shot you four times, that should've sent you back."

"Not with this gun, cupcake. You are looking at the best thing Hyperion has ever made!"

"How come I found you in the hands of some psycho then?"

“It’s not like there’s public transport for guns, princess. I get to one place to another by people that pick me up. And I can either self-destruct and kill them or see if these dumbasses can actually get me where I want to go.”

"Passing up the murder of innocent people? That's quite an accomplishment for you," Rose said sarcastically.

"I'd hardly call them 'innocent', Rosebud. Most of the time it's a bunch of bandits."

"Who isn't a bandit to you?"

The gun paused, seemingly thinking to itself. "Whatcha mad at me for, huh?" Rose said nothing, holding her stance. "I _tried_ to find you, trust me, I did, but-"

"This isn't about that."

"Then what? Did I forget something? Birthday? Anniversary? Mercenary Day? What?"

Rose sighed. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Pumpkin-" Rose pulled the trigger, silencing the gun once more. She let out a huff, her stance relaxing. Daisy perked up and began whimpering. Rose walked over to the pup and crouched down, gently petting Daisy.

"It's alright, Daisy. My whole world is just going to shit is all." An abrupt knock came to the door, causing Daisy to bark. Silently, she hushed the Skag. "Coming!" Rose stood up and began walking to the door, reloading her gun as she did so. An old habit. . . though, not exactly a bad one in the borderlands. Once ready, she opened the door, pistol in hand.

 _Zane Flynt, The Flint to Rose's Steel. . . Hand._

"Where is he?"

"Inside." Rose stepped back, allowing Zane to step in.

Zane raised an eyebrow as Rose closed the door behind him. “Ah, not seein’ ‘em, lass. Is he invisible? I heard that was a thing he did.”

"He's in the gun."

Zane took a moment to process the words that had just come out of Rose’s mouth. Once processed, he turned to her, eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

"I think it's some sort of. . . AI somebody put into the gun."

"And you're sure it's him?"

"I'm sure," Rose said firmly.

Zane still looked somewhat confused, but lucky for Rose he's willing to roll with just about anything. "Right. Well. . . want me to swing by Wainwright's to get 'em disassembled or-?"

"Hah! I'd like to see you try, geezer!" Zane jumped as the gun cackled.

"I've already put five bullets in that thing, it doesn't seem like something we can destroy," Rose explained.

“And definitely not by a Jakobs! Those tasteless assholes won’t know where to begin with me.”

"I'm callin' Tannis," Zane stated simply, taking out his ECHO.

“Yeah, good luck convincing her with no proof, dumb-dumb!” Zane peered up from his ECHO. “The gun is self-repairing and nearly impossible to take apart. You add that with my refusal to talk and your case is gone, kiddo.”

Zane looked to Rose for guidance. She narrowed her eyes at the gun, considering the possibilities. Jack is without a doubt a liar and a cheat, but he doesn’t bluff or at least he’s never been desperate enough to bluff. Though, now. . .

Rose settled for something neutral. "What do you want exactly?"

"First things first, I need blondie here to take a step outside."

"Like hell I am!"

"Zane-"

"I'm not gonna leave you alone with this bastard. No way."

"Just stand outside the door, if anything happens I'll give you a yell."

“ ‘If anything happens’,” Jack repeated, “the worst thing that can happen is that she leaves your old ass for a gun.”

Rose ignored Jack. "I'll be fine."

After a moment of consideration, Zane let out a tired sigh. “Alright, but if _anythin’_ happens, I’m comin’ in, takin’ the bastard onto Sanctuary, and launchin’ him out o’ the airlock.”

“I don’t think that’ll be the best choice, but I won’t stop you. . . as long as you take Daisy out for some air.”

Zane smiled. “You got it.” He gave Rose a quick kiss and walked over to Daisy, scooping her up with ease before he left the kitchen.

"So, did you always like older men or is this like a new thing?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's the same age as you, jackass."

"I died in early forties, thank you very much."

Rose pulled out a chair at the dinner table and sat down across from the gun. “Yet, you never acted like it.”

“ _You_ found that charming.”

“A decade ago, yeah, but a lot can change in that time.”

“Ah, once you hit a certain amount of time. . . semi-alive things begin to just repeat.”

Rose gave the gun a stern expression. “What do you want?” she asked again, more firmly this time.

“I got a few loose ends I need to tie up.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “And you just expect me to tie them up for you?”

“It’s not like I can do them myself. One of the downsides of bein’ in a friggin’ gun is no easy mobility.”

"Why should I help you?"

There was a small moment of silence before Jack sighed “I’m done with this whole. . . immortality thing. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t fuck. I might as well be in a void of nothingness.” Taking a habitual breath, Jack continued. “Only I know how to destroy this gun and I’ll tell you how. . . after my last wishes are carried out.”

“. . . What are your last wishes?”

“I need you to contact a couple of people and I’m gonna need you to find a location that I want to officially die in. But, before I give you the information, I need to know that you’re actually going to do this and not just go and tell your bandit buddies.”

Rose thought on this for a moment. "What if they could help?" she proposed.

Jack chuckled. “Babe, as soon as they know I’m alive they’re gonna take me away and try to find out how to kill me. Which they’ll die before they get it out of me,” he said almost casually. “It’s gotta be you, Rosebud,” he said with an uncharacteristic tenderness. “I won’t have it any other way.”

Rose reached over to scratch her hand once again and once again, she remembered that it wasn’t there.

This might be the only way to stop Jack once and for all, but to do this might be more dangerous than to just hand him over to the Raiders for their slaughter. Was she to lie to them while she worked with Jack behind their back? She was already on thin ice since the Jackpot, should she really risk it all?

“Rose,” Jack said, desperation in his voice. “Please.” She looked to the gun, heart pounding, brows furrowed.

She rubbed her prosthetic anxiously while she weighed her choices. “Okay,” she said quietly.

"Okay?"

“We have a deal. I carry out your last wishes and in return, I kill you. And you don’t come back.”

There was an instance of silence.

Jack spoke, a smile in his voice. "I knew I could count on you, Rosebud."

Rose felt sick.


	2. Old G̶l̶i̶t̶c̶h̶e̶s̶ Grudges

"Rhys?" Rose asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Rhys was an old employee of mine. Imagine me, but less handsome and an absolute dickbag." Rose wanted to say she can only imagine what Rhys did to piss off Jack, but knowing Jack, he might've put too much sugar in his coffee one time. "He has something of mine that I need you to get. It’s an old ECHO eye piece that contains some important information about me on it.”

"Do you know where it is?"

“Well, no. It went offline after he took it, but it’s the one lead we got. Just ask him about the Helios crash, the kid should get nervous enough where he spills some information.” Rhys was involved with Helios? 

Rose played it off. "Real solid plan," she said sarcastically.

"I've been dead for about a decade, I'm working off of what information I got."

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine. I'll get in contact with him tomorrow. Don't think Zane's going to leave me alone tonight."

"Wow. Possessive."

"Oh, you're one to talk." Rose stood up, walked up to the front door and stepped out. The first thing she saw was Zane on the porch alone, sitting in her rocking chair, deep in thought. 

He looked up at the sight of the sudden light leaking from the front door. "What's the verdict?"

“He’s staying for now, but I’ve got a plan to get rid of him. It just might be. . . overly complicated.”

“Can’t be worse than what I went through with me seventh husband. . . or was Ben the eighth?”

"Ben was the eighth. The seventh was his brother."

"That's right. Twins. What a mess that was."

Rose smiled. "Where's Daisy?"

"Wouldn't sit still, so I tossed out that mask. Where'd she get that by the by?"

“I have no idea.” Zane chuckled as the couple watched for the excitable little Skag. Soon enough, out of a miniature swamp came Daisy with something in her maw. “Did you really throw that mask into a swamp?”

“No, I actually didn’t.” Daisy arrived at the front porch, dripping with swamp water. She dropped a human hand at Zane’s feet, panting happily. The couple laughed while Zane kneeled down to scratch Daisy behind the ears, not seeming to mind her being covered in swamp water. “Can’t take Pandora outta the pup, eh, Daisy?” Daisy barked in response.

“We really need to let her travel with FL4K sometime. Might get her to settle down some and. . .” Rose picked up the hand with disgust and tossed it away, “might mean we don’t have to clean up as many body parts.”

"Awww, but where's the fun in that?"

Rose shook her head, still smiling. “Get Daisy in the wash tub, I’m gonna find a place for the asshole to stay.”

"You got it, love. Don't strain yourself."

“You too.” Rose walked back inside, her mood immediately dropping. “You’ve got two options. The gun cabinet or a duffel bag, what’s it going to be?”

“Wow, real extravagant options here. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more though. I mean, you are dating a bandit.”

"I'm a grown woman, I can pay for my own things."

“I know you can, pumpkin, but you’d think your faithful boyfriend would chip in every now and then to make sure you’re happy.”

"I am happy, thank you very much."

"Bet you won't be when that cheap steel finally breaks on ya."

Rose pressed her lips together into a thin line. “You’re going into the duffel bag.” Rose went into her bedroom to go get the raggedy duffel bag that she had found when she cleared out this hut. She returned with the duffel bag and reached for the gun.

"Woah! Wait, wait, wait!"

"What?" Rose snapped.

"You're not putting me in that."

"Oh, yes I am." Rose reached for him again.

“Wait! What if I tell you about a guy I know that specializes in prosthetics?”

"I like the one I have now, thanks."

"I can direct you to some money I stashed!"

“I don’t want your money.” Ignoring the rest of Jack’s bargaining, Rose placed him into the duffel bag.

"God, did you chuck this in a Saurian pit?"

“Might’ve, then again I might not have. I’ll leave it up to your imagination.”

“Ugh.” Rose smiled as she zipped up the bag and placed it on the kitchen counter.

Once Jack was properly set up, she called in Zane and after bringing in a freshly washed Daisy the couple concluded the night, setting tomorrow’s worries far beyond themselves. . . . For a while.

* * *

Rose lay in bed, coated in a thin sheet of sweat, muttering in her sleep as her fears morphed into a nightmare that she couldn’t escape from. Elpis displayed proudly in a large window. Rose stood before it, not being able to move or speak, only being able to stare at the window.

She could hear footsteps coming up from behind her. Purposeful, confident steps being followed by a soft humming of an old song. His hands landed on her shoulders and Rose’s breath shuddered. He began kissing up her neck, each kiss filling her with just a little more dread. He ended at her cheek.

“You alright there, pumpkin?” He followed her gaze. “Ah, you missed it, didn’t you?” Tears escaped Rose’s eyes. “It’s okay,” he said, brushing away her tears with the back of his hand. “I missed it too.” He wrapped his arms around Rose fully, resting his chin on her shoulder. “I was there you know, when this all crashed.”

Rose looked to the grinning face reflected in the glass with fear. “You heard about that, though. The survivors said they saw Handsome Jack before it all crashed. But, they’re either bandits or dead now, so what do they know, right?” He leaned into her ear. “There can’t be more of me, right?”

* * *

Rose opened her eyes, staring up at the water damaged ceiling of her hut. Her chest, rising and falling rapidly. Her hand was itchy, but she knew she couldn’t scratch it. She turned, seeing Zane lying next to her, fast asleep.

Rose looked back up at the ceiling, the patterns of the water stains beginning to take hold, pushing away the thoughts of her nightmare. Slowly, her breathing began to slow down. “Just a nightmare,” she whispered, barely audible against Zane’s snoring. “Just a nightmare.” She closed her eyes, preparing to go back to sleep. . . when she heard a familiar humming of an old song.

Her eyes snapped open and she slowly sat up. After a moment, she got out of bed and took her pistol from the nightstand, going out to investigate.

She managed to locate the sound in the kitchen. Silently, she went down the hallway and flipped on the light switch, seeing nothing but the duffel bag on the kitchen table. Rose sighed. “I thought there was an intruder.”

Jack stopped humming. "Awww, did I wake you?"

“No. But you definitely prevented me from going back to sleep.” Rose set aside her pistol and went to fix herself a drink.

“You always were a light sleeper. Though, I thought since you’re sleeping with future hose head back there you’d grow a tolerance.”

"After living on Pandora his snoring is like white noise."

“Y’know I’ve been meaning to ask, what exactly happened on Pandora? ‘Cause last time I checked, you were dead.”

"Last time I checked, you were too," Rose said, pouring out her drink.

“Yeah, but unlike you, I’m not in one piece well. . . nearly one piece.” Rose glared at the bag over her shoulder. “So, what’s the deal, Rosebud?”

Rose poured her drink into a glass. “You thought I died. I didn’t. End of story.” She took a swig.

"Not much of a story. No details, no heroes, no villains, or characters really."

Rose turned around, facing the bag at the table. "Yeah, well, that's the story you get." There was a long and uncomfortable pause as Rose continued to sip her drink, praying that eventually it will lull her back to sleep.

Laughter began to erupt from the duffel bag. Rose raised an eyebrow. “What? What’s so funny?”

Jack took a moment to calm himself down. “Everything that’s happening I mean it’s-it’s ridiculous. I’m dead! I was killed by a bunch of friggin’ bandits and got stuffed into a friggin’ gun! And then you-“ Jack habitually took in a breath “you – my beloved fiancée, comes back from the dead with a natural history piece around your arm and you shoot me! I mean-“ he sighed. . . almost sadly, “this is comedy gold right here.”

Rose took in a deep breath, burying the feeling of pity. “You act like you never saw this coming. After all the lying and cheating and murdering, do you really think that you’re still the hero? You’ve killed innocent people and the ones you ‘cared about’ are either dead or still trying to clean up your mess.”

“This universe doesn’t accept good people, pumpkin. I did what I did so that we could survive-“

“Don’t you dare try to twist this into an act of humility.” Rose set down her glass next to the gun. “Get over yourself.” With that, she left for bed, leaving Jack to drown in his silence.

* * *

Rose and Zane awoke the next morning and after some breakfast Rose had asked Zane to take Daisy out for a walk so that she could set up a call with Rhys.

She still felt dirty, hiding away the true plan from Zane, but she wasn’t going to risk his safety or the rest of the Crimson Raiders for that matter.

Her ECHO ringed for a moment and Rose began to fear if he was busy. Luckily, Rhys picked up.

“Rose! Your call is not on my schedule, is everything okay? . . . Is there another corporation that wants me dead?”

“No, no, everything’s fine, Rhys. I just needed to ask you some questions,” Rose began, skeptical of her own words. She took in a deep breath. “Do you know anything about the Helios crash a few years back?” she asked hurriedly.

There was a silence on Rhys's end. "What?"

“You know, the Hyperion station that crashed into Pandora, causing mass devastation?”

"Uh. . . am I in trouble?" he asked, his voice going up in pitch.

"No-"

“Because-because I can promise you I-I didn’t crash the ship. . . well not by myself and-and not on purpose! I mean, I had no choice-!”

"Rhys."

"Yes?"

"Breathe."

Rhys sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly. “Sorry,” he apologized with a nervous chuckle. “Uh, wha-what did you want to know about the crash?”

"Um. . ." Rose glanced at the gun beside her.

"What caused the crash?" Jack said, barely above a whisper.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Uh, what caused the crash?"

"Depends. You want to hear a story or do you want a summary?"

"I'll stick with a summary."

"O-oh," Rhys said, slight disappointment in his voice. "Right. Well, after a hunt for a fake Vault Key I stumbled upon an actual lead to a Vault. Me and a group of people got onto Helios to steal a piece of a Vault Key from it and. . . I had an ECHO Eye implant with. . . something bad on it."

"Wow," Jack commented, earning a glare from Rose.

Rhys paused. "Is-is someone there with you?"

"No, it's nothing, it's just the old wood in this house. Just try your best to ignore it."

"Alright," Rhys said somewhat apprehensively. "Where was I?"

"Something about an ECHO Eye implant?"

"Right. Well, one thing led to another, the implant got hooked up to Helios's system and started killing people."

_The survivors said they saw Handsome Jack before it all crashed._

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek, pushing that thought down. Rhys continued. "The only way to put a stop to it was to destroy Helios."

"Wha-what did you do with the ECHO Eye?" There was a quiet moment on Rhys's end. "Rhys?"

"I'm-I'm still here, I'm just surprised that you're not telling me I'm a murderer and going out to kill me."

Rose suppressed the urge to outright say that at the moment she doesn't care he crashed Helios. "Rhys, I've done worse, trust me, just-" she took a breath, calming herself down, "what did you do with the implant?"

"I, uh. . . why is this relevant?"

"It's very vital to my mission here. If I don't get this implant, people could die."

"Really? I'd think if you had the implant people would die."

"Where is it, Rhys?" Rose asked more firmly, her patience growing thin.

"Well, despite everything I. . . kept it. I don't really know why, but I did. I think it's at HQ somewhere."

"Somewhere? Where's somewhere, Rhys?"

"Ah. . . don't be mad at me?"

"Say it first and I'll consider it."

"I don't really know where it is."

At this point, Rose's frustration had bubbled over. "Rhys."

"Yes?"

"I'm coming over to Promethea. By the time I get there you better have this implant because if you don't I'll find some other bat shit CEO that's itching to get their hands on someone like you and have them tear Atlas apart." Rose hung up, fuming.

Jack sighed dreamily. "Y'know you're really pretty when you threaten people." Rose said nothing, she simply put the gun back into her moldy duffel bag.


	3. Onward to Promethea!

"So what exactly are we doin'?" Zane asked as he continued to help Rose pack.

"We're going to visit Rhys so that I can get something for the mission."

"And. . . what is the mission?"

"Killing Jack. Again."

"And how are we doin' that?"

Rose sighed. "Zane, I'm just going to need you to go along with this without asking questions, alright?"

Zane held his hands up in defense. “Hey, I can go wit’ the flow, I just want to make sure that you’ll be safe on this mission.” Zane came over, placing his hands on Rose’s hips, looking deep into her eyes. “The last thing I want is for ya to get hurt.”

"I know." Rose managed a small smile. "This is all just so stressful."

“I can only imagine.” Zane reached up, placing his hand on Rose’s cheek. She held it closer to her. “Listen, ya don’t have to tell me everythin’ if that makes it easier for you, just don’t put yourself at risk, alright?”

"Alright."

Zane smiled. “Alright.” He bent down, kissing Rose just briefly before departing. “You be safe gettin’ to Atlas and if anythin’ happens just give me a call, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

"Will do. Go say hi to Moxxi for me, will you?"

“Like she’d let me pass by without askin’ ‘bout ya.” Rose smiled, rolling her eyes as she departed from Zane. “I’m tellin’ ya, lass, I have some competition on me hands.”

“There’s no competition, Zane. I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

“And what if I said Moxxi has been plannin’ for ya to come over to help work on the ship?” Rose’s eyebrows raised slightly, the image of Moxxi in her mechanic uniform briefly crossing her mind, causing her heart to skip. “Uh-huh.”

"Shut up." Zane only laughed.

* * *

Once all packed up the couple walked to the nearest Fast Travel station, Daisy in tow.

"Yep. Walking still sucks," Jack spoke.

"No one asked ya." Zane zipped up Rose’s duffel bag, muffling any more of the gun’s complaints. “You sure ya don’t want me to carry ‘em?”

“No, it’s safer this way. Besides, I’d feel bad. I mean, you’re already running so many errands for me.”

“And I’d run a hundred more for ya, love. Nothin’ you throw at me is gonna be too big of a job.” Rose looked over her shoulder and smiled. Zane returned it.

The moment was interrupted by Jack. “Oh, cute. Real cute. Nothing like an errand boy doing his job to really tug at the heartstrings.”

"At least he can say he made his living with his own two hands."

"I did too! I just added a few more as I moved along. Pair of those being one of his. . . I think. Yeah, pretty sure I remembered some old guy still bleaching his hair working on the Jackpot with me."

" 'Least I can say that's all the work I had done."

"I'll have you know, my body was all natural."

"You know taking young people's blood doesn't count, right?" Rose teased, earning a high five from Zane.

"Oh, ha-ha-ha."

The group arrived at the Fast Travel station. Rose knelt down to say goodbye to her whimpering Skag. “It’ll be alright, girly. I’ll be back before you even know it.” Rose ran her hand over the Skag’s scales lovingly. “You be good. . . but not too good, okay?” Daisy barked. “Good.” Rose stood up and faced Zane. “Same goes for you, mister.”

“I’m not gonna make any promises.” Zane bent down and kissed her goodbye before looking down at her duffel bag. He crouched. “If anythin’ happens to her I’m gonna blame you and launch you out o’ an airlock.”

Jack laughed. "Yeah, sure, hope you have a heart attack, gramps."

"Hope someone's pissin' on your grave, douchebag." Zane stood up, smiling warmly at Rose. "You have a nice trip, lass."

“I’ll try.” Rose turned to the station and took in a deep breath in. She put in the coordinates for Atlas HQ and in a flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

Rose pressed her comm link, calling the last person she contacted. “Rhys.” Rhys let out a startled cry. Rose ignored it. “I’m outside of your office, you better have what I came for.”

“Um, yeah! I’ll, uh, get it now.” Rose tapped the comm link again to end the call.

"How much you wanna bet he lost it?"

Rose lightly hit the bag, causing it to sway. “There’s cameras and guards everywhere, do you want them to confiscate you?” she whispered.

"Oh, like they would."

Rose lightly hit the bag, causing it to sway. "They can and they will, jackass. We're in hot water as it is, don't make it worse."

"Alright, alright. I'll be good. I guess."

Suddenly the doors to Rhys’s office opened. “Come on in!” Rhys said nervously over the intercom. Rose walked in, the door closing behind her.

She walked through the hallway lined with sea creatures. She never did know why Rhys wanted an entire aquarium in his office, but she supposed that the man didn’t have the greatest of tastes, you could tell that from his mustache. Or well, lack of mustache now.

Rose arrived at the entrance of his office and crossed her arms, not seeing any sign of the man in question. She tapped her comm link.

"Rhys? Where are you?"

“Uh, just-just a moment, alright? How about you just sit down for a bit? You came a long way after all, bet you’re tired.”

"Rhys, I know you're stalling."

"St-stalling? Why would I stall?"

"Because you're afraid of what I'll do when I find out you don't have it."

"And-and what will you do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Punching you my hurt my hand." Rose hummed thoughtfully, scanning his office. "I might just find the most expensive looking thing in your office and accidentally smash it against the wall."

“There-there’s no need for that! I’ll be out in a bit, just, uh, just give me a minute!” Rhys hung up again.

Rose sighed, going over to sit down. “Okay, I have a _crazy_ idea, but hear me out, okay? What if you take me out of this moldy ass bag and have him head butt a couple of bullets then we go look for the implant ourselves, huh? What’d you say, cupcake?” Jack proposed eagerly.

“We’re not going to kill him,” Rose hissed as she sat down in a chair.

"Oh, why not?" Jack whined.

"Because he might be annoying and kind of incompetent-"

"Kind of?"

"But he doesn't deserve to die. Besides, we'd be in a lot more trouble than we already are."

"Ah, we could get away with it," Jack said dismissively.

“No, we couldn’t because I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re not Mr. Hyperion anymore, you’re in a frigging gun. Anything you used to get away with is not going to fly. So, settle down, shut up and let me do the work, got it?”

"Gotta say, I like you taking initiative."

"You're insufferable."

"You know it, babe." After a short moment in a tense silence there was a cheer from the other room.

"I got it!" Rose looked across the room in slight surprise as

_Rhys Strongfork, The Man with No Plan_

emerged, triumphantly holding a small, blue box. Rose could see in the background what appeared to be a whole mess of boxes and wires and such. He must’ve been tearing apart the place looking for that thing.

Rose stood up, moving across the room to retrieve the implant. “Bravo, Rhys, you did what I asked you to do. Now, if you could hand that over-”

Rhys held up the blue box away from Rose. “Wait, wait, wait, I’m not just going to hand this over without knowing what you’re going to do with it.”

Rose looked to Rhys with growing frustration. “Does it really matter?”

“ _Yes_ , it does. This implant contains something extremely dangerous and if it ends up in the wrong hands things could go horribly wrong.” A scoff came from Rose’s bag. “What was that?”

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in mock confusion. “What was what?”

"I could've sworn I heard something."

"Focus, Rhys."

“Right. Why do you want this?” Rose took a moment, maintaining a neutral face as she thought of a vague excuse. “. . . Do you even know what’s on here?”

“I _know_ it has something to do with Handsome Jack and I _know_ that that doesn’t settle well with the Crimson Raiders. So unless you want them on your ass again, you’ll give that to me.” Rhys glanced anxiously in between Rose and the box.

"I don't know. . . ."

“I could of course, tell the Raiders about the whole Helios fiasco and how you not only kept this supposedly dangerous implant on you despite everything that happened, but you refuse to give it up.”

Rhys sighed. “Alright, just. . . be careful with it.” Rhys handed the box over and Rose immediately opened it to check, seeing an ECHO eye implant.

She glanced up at the company man. “Are you sure this is the one?”

“It’s not like I keep the rest of my ECHO implants because that’d be creepy.”

"Like this isn't."

"Hey, it's helping you so I don't think you can say anything about that."

"I just did." Rose closed up the box and slipped it into her duffel bag. "Thanks for the cooperation, Rhys, the Raiders are going to be grateful for it. You take care of yourself."

“Really? That-that’s it? We’re done? There’s no. . . other thing you want from me?”

“Nope. We’re all good here,” Rose said as she began to walk out of Rhys’s office.

Rhys chuckled softly. “That’s really weird. Usually when we have a problem a bigger one always comes up.”

"Life has its moments."

Rhys placed his hands on his hips, smiling. “Suppose it does. Oh, um, you want me to call some guards to escort you out?”

"No, I'll be fine."

"Alright, you have a safe trip!" Rhys called from across his office.

"I'll try!" Rose called back.

She opened the door to exit the office and her heart nearly stopped. She was now face to face with Handsome Jack. . . 's doppelganger.

_Timothy Lawrence, Likes: Cats, Having Two Hands, Hates: Heights, Handsome Jack._

Rose’s hand felt itchy. “Rose! Uh, hi! I-I wasn’t expecting you here- um, how are you?” Timothy cleared his throat, trying to mask his obvious voice crack.

"Good, good," she said slowly, still not quite comfortable seeing Jack's face. "I see that you called up Rhys."

Tim smiled bashfully. “Yeah, thanks for giving me his number by the way, it really came in handy.” He glanced down at his Atlas brand prosthetic and he held it up. “Uh, pun not intended.”

Rose laughed lightly. "That's great."

"Yeah." Timothy stood there for a moment, looking on almost dreamily.

"Uh, Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda need to squeeze past you here."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, sorry, go ahead." Timothy pressed his back against the wall of fish, though it didn’t really matter considering the narrow hallway. Rose brushed past him, smiling politely. Once out Rose waved to Timothy.

"I'll see you around?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, definitely. I'll see you around, kiddo." Awkwardly, he shot her a finger gun and she shot back. Timothy put a hand over his heart, pretending that he had been shot. Rose laughed before leaving Rhys's office.

She let out a breath of relief. "Wow. Nice to see Timmy's keeping the ol' Handsome Jack charm alive," Jack said.

"Hush."


	4. Double Trouble

Rose was now waiting outside of Atlas HQ, on the watch for soldiers and such as she continued to whisper to her duffel bag.

"Alright, I got the implant, now what?"

“Now, we move onto phase two which might be easier than I thought it would be. I need you to contact one of my doppelgangers and get them in on this.”

Rose paused, taking in Jack’s words, only becoming more confused. “What?”

“Listen, I know that I am unbelievably sexy and gave those poor bastards more perks than they could name. . . but a lot of them ended up dead or worse. And I guess that’s my bad.” Rose was slightly surprised. That was halfway to taking the blame. “I wanna make it up to whoever’s left. You get them in on it and not only do they get to kill me, but I throw in a free-of-death plastic surgery. How's that sound?”

"Wait a minute. . . really? There's no catch or-?"

"Rosebud, I'm gonna die. I'm not gonna die an asshole."

"Again."

"Oh, alright, that was uncalled for."

"Was it, though?"

Rose didn't exactly know how, but she knew that Jack was mentally rolling his eyes. "Just get Tim or some other handsome bastard on the horn or y’know don’t it’s their funeral. . . well, my funeral, but you know what I mean.”

“Well, lucky for us, we don’t have to pick. Tim’s the only one left, courtesy to you.”

“How? I was dead,” Jack said, slightly exasperated.

“You left them all in the casino to rot when you died.”

“Oh, my bad. I should’ve thought about if I died by the hands of a bunch of idiots because I can _totally_ predict that,” Jack said sarcastically.

“Yes, you can! But, since you were twenty feet tall, bullet proof, and so far up your own ass you can’t see through your own bullshit you never did.”

Jack sighed. “Listen, I don’t know what I did to piss you off and I bet that’s pissing you off even more, but I’m trying, okay? I really do want to make things right again.” Rose opened her mouth to retort when Jack interrupted. “And no, this is not like that one time where I asked a Vault Hunter to check up on my grandma to make sure that she was dead.”

"I wasn't going to bring that up, but good example."

"Just- give me a chance?"

Rose glanced down at her bag, pressing her lips together. “You’re asking a lot of me.”

"I'm not hearing a no. . . ."

"You're also not hearing a yes, so I wouldn't get too cocky."

"Please, you like cocky. If ya didn't what are you doing with me or blondie?"

"Zane is not cocky." Though, Rose said that with full confidence she couldn't even convince herself that was true.

Jack cackled. “Yeah and he doesn’t have a tendency to toss people out of an airlock either.”

"At least he's not a megalomaniac."

“Well, can’t win ‘em all. I mean, the second best thing you’d come to me is if you were bangin’ Tim and even then-“

“I _know_ you are not suggesting I went after someone like you.”

"No. But I'm not denying it."

Rose scoffed. "Not everything is about you."

"It should be."

“Uh, Rose?” Rose jumped, turning to the approaching Timothy. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle ya, I just. . . I haven’t seen you since the casino and I never did give you a proper goodbye or anything-“

“You don’t have to apologize for it, Timothy. I mean, you were bleeding to death, you have as good of an excuse as any.”

“I know, but I just feel we left. . . all of this unfinished.”

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Yeah. . . so, you-"

"Wanna grab a coffee? I helped reopen a shop not too long ago and supposedly it literally saved lives."

“Oh, um, yeah, yeah that-“ Timothy’s smile grew, melting away any sign of Jack in him, “that sounds great.”

“Good, come on, it’s not that far of a walk.” Rose grabbed Timothy’s metal hand with her own, leading him to the nearest fast travel. A stupid little grin stuck on the doppel’s face.

* * *

"God, that barista bot was annoying."

“It didn’t exactly help that you were cursing at him the whole time,” Rose said before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Robots are supposed to be helpful and when they’re not it’s frustrating.”

"Give them a bit of a break, it isn't their fault they're sometimes horribly unhelpful."

"Which is why I like Atlas. No annoying robots." Rose took a sip of her coffee.

"How's Atlas treating you by the way?" she asked.

"A lot better than my last job, that's for sure," Timothy said with a slightly chuckle. "Rhys was kind enough to have me intern for him, so I've been doing coffee runs and moving his appointments around for him along with a few other things."

"How are you liking it?"

"I mean, I can't really complain about having a place to stay and a well-paying job that doesn't involve the threat of death around every corner. It's all I really need."

“What about all you really want?” Timothy took a sip of his coffee only to tip the cup back to its upright position.

“Oh! Maybe not burning my tongue, ah!”

Rose chuckled. “Seriously, though. You’ve been focused on the big picture for so long, how about the details or the smaller goals?”

“Well, I was thinking I’d actually do something with my screenplays and do some real dating again, y’know not just hookups with hook. . .” Tim cleared his throat, “um, anyway everything else I wanted to do is all in the past now. Not like I can pick them back up.”

“And. . . what if I told you you could?”

Timothy raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

Rose tilted her head toward a more secluded area. “I got something to show you.”

“Really?” Timothy followed Rose down to an abandoned subway area where she double checked to make sure they were alone. “Is this uh. . . uh, what is this?”

“A few days ago,” Rose fished out the Jackhammer from her duffel bag, presenting it non-threateningly, “I found this gun in my front yard and I didn’t think much of it until. . .”

"Until. . . what?"

“Heya, handsome.” Timothy jumped, dropping his coffee causing Jack to cackle maniacally. “Oh! You should’ve seen your face! Well, my face.”

"What the hell- what the hell?!"

"Alright, princess, I know it's me, but you gotta calm down."

“Your- it- _he’s_ supposed to be dead!”

"Yeah, she knows that, dumb-dumb."

“He apparently got his consciousness transferred into this gun- and before you do something rash or run this gun is indestructible and only he knows how to shut himself off for good.”

"Then- what-?"

“He wants his last wishes carried out and if we fulfill them he’ll tell us how to off him.”

“No. No, no, no, I am done with Jack, I am done with this!” Timothy began to walk away until Jack piped up.

"What if I could remove that mask for you?"

The doppel paused and slowly turned around. "What?"

"You heard me."

Timothy urgently walked back. “You’re-you’re saying that you can disarm this bomb in my face and get me back to normal?”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do with the face underneath after what Lilith did, but I can get the mask off and you can go nuts.”

". . . Can I get my freckles back?"

"I don't see why not."

Timothy looked up at Rose. "He-he's not lying, right?"

"Not from what I can tell."

Timothy looked back down at the gun, skeptic. “Why are you doing this?”

“What do you think, kiddo? My own benefit. You promise to help kill me, I help pop off that mask and I have the moral high ground. How 'bout it?"

“This is. . .” Timothy let out a breath slowly, running his hands through his hair. “This is fucking crazy.”

"Timothy, I know just as well as you how bat shit this is, b ut this might be our only chance and. . . I can’t pass that up.” Timothy looked to Rose anxiously, his mind racing. “I know this is nothing easy to choose and this definitely isn’t the smoothest way for me to give you this decision, but we need you to make a decision.”

Timothy began fidgeting with his prosthetic. “Is this. . . really what you want to do?”

Rose drew in a breath, really considering Timothy’s words. “It is. But, what I want to do shouldn’t affect your decision, Timothy. You’re your own person.”

Timothy sighed. “I know.” His eyes flickered over to the gun once more. He took in a sharp breath. “Jack, you are an absolute chode!” Timothy exclaimed, his voice cracking as he did. “You have brought me nothing but pain and suffering and more debt than I started off with! I’m now one hand in the grave and I can’t show my face in public without people trying to kill me.”

Timothy paused, glaring down at the gun with so much hatred that you could mistake him for Jack. “Count me first in line to kill you.”

“Well, technically you’re second, but I like the enthusiasm, cupcake. You really shaped up.”

"Thanks, I'll make sure to tell that to my therapist."

“Uh, yeah, first rule about killing Jack club, kiddo, is that you don’t talk about killing Jack club.”

Timothy rolled his eyes. “Of course, what are you if not full of secrets?”

“That’s the spirit. Now, you go make up some excuse to skip town to Rhysie and start packing, we’re going to Pandora!”


	5. Missed Opportunities

Rhys had been kind enough to offer Rose a room for the night. Well, she didn’t exactly know if it was out of fear or kindness since those motives often went hand in hand with Rhys, but either way she was grateful for it.

It wasn’t long until Zane had finally arrived from his visit on Sanctuary. “Sorry I couldn’t come sooner, the crew held me up.”

Rose raised an eyebrow in response, smiling. “You sure it wasn’t just you not being physically capable to shut up?”

“No- well, that was a factor. Either way, I brought booze to compensate.” From his back, Zane produced one of the pricey bottles in Moxxi’s bar. “Oh! Also a letter from Moxxi.” He fished in his back pocket, taking out a small envelope that Moxxi had even sealed with wax. “She sends her love.”

Rose took the letter, finding that it was lightly scented with her perfume. Her heart fluttered. “Love.” She looked up, snapping back to reality. “Ya wanna get yer jaw off the floor or. . . ?” Rose grinned, punching Zane in the arm.

“Shut up.” Rose walked back into the room, setting Moxxi’s note on the nightstand to be read later.

“I’m not physically capable to do that,” Zane said matter-of-factly as he closed the door behind him.

“How did Daisy get along?” Rose asked, changing the subject

“I know you’re just changin’ the subject on me, but for your information, she got along just fine. She’s hangin’ out wit’ FL4K and their pack right ‘bout now. They promised to take ‘er out for a hunt sometime,” Zane said as he found two cups to pour the drink in.

Rose sighed happily. "That's great."

“Now,” Zane turned, two cups in hand, “how did you get along?” He went over to Rose handing her her drink. “The arsehole give ya any trouble?”

“Not any more than usual. I managed to get what we needed from Rhys without having to pull teeth and I ran into Timothy.”

“Timothy? Shite, haven’t seen ‘im since the casino.”

“Well, get ready to see him again because he’s coming along with us.”

"Really?"

“Yep. He’s going to get the mask removed then supposedly that ties into the endgame of this whole shabang.”

"Sounds complicated."

“It’s Jack, what else did you expect?” Rose took a swig.

“You sure, you’re okay wit’ all this? I’m ready to turn tail and bail if you decide ya don’t want to do this. Hell, I’ll even relocate us and change our names if ya need it.”

“No. I’m done running. I want to finish this.”

“Okay, then that’s what we do.” Zane draped his arm over Rose’s shoulders, painting out the big picture. “We’re gonna saddle up wit’ Timothy and travel onto. . .”

"Pandora."

“Pandora! We’ll pop off his mask and kill Handsome Jack, once and for all.”

“Once and for all,” Rose echoed. Zane clinked his glass against Rose’s and the two drank.

* * *

Rose couldn't sleep. Even after emptying half the bottle Moxxi sent over and laying still, hoping her body will give up eventually, she simply couldn't sleep. Not with the knowledge that Jack was alive and in the room with her.

She scratched her prosthetic, not even being phased at finding the metal underneath her fingertips.

She brought her knees to her chest, taking in the room around her as she tried to calm herself down. Eventually, her eyes landed on the note Moxxi had sent her. Sending a glance to Zane, she took the letter from the nightstand and quietly opened it.

“ _Hey there, sugar. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I hope you’re holding up well and if you’re not, the bottle I sent you should help with that. But, of course, some things just don’t stay quiet. I hope in those times you give me a call. I’ll always have a place for you whether the world’s ending or I need help tinkering. Always remember that._

_Stay safe, sugar._

_\- With Love,_ _Moxxi "_

Rose wasn’t aware a smile had grown on her lips as she read the letter. Moxxi always knew what to say. Rose looked to her ECHO.

It’s late and a call from an old ex in the middle of a night isn’t exactly what everyone wants. Rose began to lay back down when she glanced at the moldy duffel bag against the wall. Her mind was made up.

She got out of bed, taking her ECHO to the balcony. She closed the doors behind her as quietly as possible and dialed up Moxxi’s number.

A beat. “Rose? Well, this is a surprise.”

“Yeah, and that just proves I’m a shitty friend.”

“You actually got me out of a grueling conversation with a bunch of dumbasses thinking they can take advantage of my corporations.”

“Well, that’s just plain luck.”

“What made you call me up then? Plain luck?”

“No. I just wanted to talk to you. I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve properly talked to you.”

"What even was our last real conversation?"

"Remember when I was sent out with the Vault Hunters on the Heist for the Jackpot? We had to stay the night in a little hideout nestled in the lobby. I insisted on taking first watch since I couldn't sleep. He was just. . . everywhere. It was overwhelming. So, I called up you."

"You didn't tell me that was the reason for the call."

"Didn't want you to try to take me out so early in the mission. I wanted to be done with Jack as much as anyone else and if getting that casino would make you happier then I was going to go through with it no matter what."

"You know, you don't have to do all that for lil' ol' me, sugar. I would've appreciated you just the same without havin' you go through. . . everything again." 

"With the way the news about me and Jack settled with the Vault Hunters, I'm bound to relive it all again." Perhaps sooner than Rose had thought if something goes awry.

"You remember the day we destroyed the Eye of Helios?"

"All too well."

"Before Jack and the Vault Hunter went down to 'fix it', I had called you and told you you should swing by my bar for a drink while things were looking up."

Rose looked down at Atlas, soldiers quietly patrolling the sidewalks while the neon buzz of Promethea engulfed the silence. "But I wanted to stay with Jack."

"You ever wonder what would've happened if you came by for a drink?"

"Only every night," Rose attempted to joke. "I thought of a million scenarios for it. Us, running off together, making a new start with the Raiders and taking down Jack when he was still vulnerable."

"You'd co-run my corporations," Moxxi added, a smile to her voice.

"Make sure everyone stay in line." Rose's own smile began to grow.

"I'd show you a thing or two about mechanics and you wouldn't have to hike up to Sanctuary for a check-up."

"I wouldn't need a check-up at all. I'd still have my left hand if I had that drink." Rose's smile faded and she began to sweep her metallic palm with her thumb. "I like to think that, anyway."

Moxxi paused. "It's a nice fantasy."

"Yeah. But, that's all it is at the end of the day. A fantasy." She was so young and stupid back then she would have gone running back to Jack after his close scrape with death. And they both knew it.

A ringing emitted from Moxxi's side. She sighed. "Shit, sugar. I'm going to have to call you back."

"No, no, it's alright, you don't have to. It's late anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Go do what you have to do, Moxx."

"Alright, you take care, sugar."

"Take care, Moxxi." Moxxi hung up, leaving Rose alone on the balcony.

* * *

"Oh, he looks 'bout ready to piss himself. Y'sure he can do this?" Zane asked.

"Tim will be fine. Probably," Rose assured.

"He's going to chicken out," Jack warned.

“No one asked you,” Zane and Rose whispered in unison.

The couple approached Timothy who was anxiously waiting beside the fast travel. “You ready to go there, boyo?” Zane asked cautiously.

“Yeah, yeah, totally pumped to get this mask off and hopefully not dying in the process.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Tim. We’ll be there every step of the way,” Rose said.

“We’ll make sure those psycho’s won’t have a chance to make a skin pizza outta ye," Zane added.

“Comforting.” Tim let out a deep breath as he turned to the fast travel. “Well, I haven’t been to Pandora in years, it must’ve changed right-“

“Nope. Same shitehole it’s been, the only difference ya might see is less psychos beggin’ ya to autograph their meat bicycles and whatnot.”

“Oh, well, isn’t that peachy?” Tim muttered.

With shaking hands he began to punch in the coordinates for Pandora. “You sure you still want to do this, Tim? It’s not too late to turn back.” A loud clearing of the throat erupted from the duffel bag. Rose shook her head. “Ignore him, I’m sure we’ll find something else if you decide that you can’t do this.”

“No. Nope. I’m-I’m tired of this asshole. I’m going to kill him. Once and for all.”

A small smile formed on Rose’s lips. “Once and for all.” Briefly, Tim smiled back.

“Jeez, enough with the parting words, I’m dying over here!” The moment ruined, Timothy turned to the fast travel and in a flash of light, he was gone.


	6. Pieces of People We Love

Rose and Zane met up with Timothy on Pandora and began their travel to a supposed surgeon located in Hollowpoint.

The three caught a ride and it was a bit of an understatement to say there was tension in that car ride. Timothy sat in the back with his hood up while Rose drove and Zane stayed in the passenger seat, using the duffel bag as a footrest.

“Does this thing not have a friggin’ radio?” Jack asked, muffled.

“The one bloody thing ya won’t find carjackin’,” Zane said dismissively.

“And even if we did have a radio I’d doubt you’d like anything that was on,” Rose insulted.

“Yeah, but it’d be better than this silence. I mean chin up, kiddos, you’re killing me! This is every bandit’s wet dream here.”

"Too bad we're not bandits," Rose reminded.

"I didn't mean you, Rosebud, you know that."

"Do I?"

“You should. I put in effort to make sure you know that.”

"Oh, good for you. Have a fucking medal."

“Bandits,” Timothy warned, though it seemed more like just a change in subject.

“I got it this time,” Zane announced. After Rose had slowed down the car a bit, Zane hopped into the gunner and fended off the massive technical beside them.

“You ever been to Hollowpoint, Rose?” Timothy questioned, purely curious it seemed.

“No, I’ve heard good things to Pandora’s standard about it, though.”

“Bet it’s nothing like Opportunity,” Jack chimed.

“Thanks. No one asked you,” Tim said.

“Y’know not liking the amount of sass I’m getting here.”

“Too bad, you’re stuck with us,” said Rose. The technical beside them broke down with a puff of smoke. Zane’s cheer was followed by a quick shout. “Zane?”

“Get off o’ me ya wee-“ Zane growled before firing a shot. Timothy yelped as something flew past his window. “Shite!” He climbed back in, wiping off blood and viscera from his face. . . though nothing you’d find inside of a human.

"What-"

"Ya don't wanna know."

* * *

The trip went on like this for a while until the party couldn’t keep their eyes open for much longer. After prying the wheel from Zane’s hands the group had pulled over to rest for the night.

“I’ll take watch-“

“Nope, I’m gonna find you passed out on the ground with a Skag biting your ankle. You rest so that you can take my shift later.”

"Love, I can handle it."

“Go to sleep. Both of you. I’ll wake you when my shift is over or if the world starts ending again.” Rose pecked Zane on the cheek. “Jack, if I hear a goddamn word from you-“

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I won't disturb the meat sacks."

“Good.” Rose got out of the car and hopped up into the gunner’s seat and looked out onto the horizon on Pandora.

It wasn’t exactly unfamiliar to Rose to be scouting the droughts of Pandora for bandits and psychos and whatnot. Though, that didn’t exactly make it any more pleasant. With her lack of sleep for the past two nights and nothing else to do her brain got to work with some terrifying entertainment.

Dark figures lurking in the corners of her eyes and as time went on the list of their intentions only grew longer and longer. It started off with the simple “they're gonna hurt me” and began evolving to more personal matters.

They’re going to hurt Zane. They’re going to hurt Timothy. They found out about the Jackhammer and they’re coming to take him away. After they kill the three of them and take the Jackhammer, they’re blowing up Sanctuary and everyone on it.

Suddenly, the sound of someone’s feet hitting the sand caused Rose to turn, the cannon aimed directly at the possible threat.

“Woah, woah, it’s just me.” Rose lowered the canon and sighed at the sight of Timothy with his hands up.

“Timothy, what are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“Wasn’t really working out for me. . . and I thought you could use some company.”

“I appreciate it, Tim, but if anyone sees you-“

“There’s no one out here. Besides, we got a real life Vault Hunter in the car and you in the gunner seat. As far as I’m concerned I’m as safe as I’m gonna get.”

Rose looked to Timothy and just knew by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to budge. “Fine, but if we get swarmed by bandits I’m going to blame you.”

"Sounds like a plan, sweetheart." He hopped up onto the hood of the Outrunner, laying back on the windshield. "I. . . didn't mean to call you sweetheart, that just kinda slipped out."

"Yeah, I know." Timothy somewhat relaxed at that.  “You were just antsy to get outside weren’t you?” Rose asked as she followed Timothy’s gaze up toward the stars.

“Yes- well, I mean, no. I _also_ wanted to talk to you since you know, we never really got to talk.”

"What exactly did you want to talk about, Tim?"

Tim seemed almost surprised by this question. "I-I don't know. I honestly didn't plan this far ahead."

Rose smiled softly. "What's been on your mind then?"

“Other than the looming doom of all of this going horribly wrong then I’d say the old days. Before Jack became, well, Jack.”

“It’s kinda hard not to think about it when you’re surrounded by reminders of it.”

“I wonder if- when I get this mask off if it’d make any more of a difference.”

“Well, if you’ll take my personal experience into consideration, I don’t see the man’s face every time I look in the mirror, but even I can’t shake him off.”

"Yeah, but he also took your hand."

Rose glanced down at her prosthetic, flexing the fingers of it. “Well, not really." Timothy turned away from the sky to look up at Rose.

"Hey." Rose looked down at Timothy as he held his own prosthetic up. "We didn't give up our own hands because we wanted to. We bleed the same blood and all."

Rose's eyebrows bounced up at Timothy's profound statement. "Suppose we do. But, my reason is much less heroic compared to yours."

"There's no comparing." Timothy turned back to the night sky. "We've both been on long, shitty journeys. And. . . we came out stronger. Kinda."

"You're awfully wise tonight. What's the catch?"

"Eh, I don't know. This whole life-or-death surgery has made me philosophical. I hate it." Rose chuckled. A silence settled over the two, though it was comfortable. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to ask. . ." Rose looked on reassuringly, having a hunch on what Tim was about to say. "Why have you been so nice to me? I mean, ever since I got on the moon you've always been so supportive of me even when I wasn't at my best. Why?"

Rose took a moment, considering her words. "Well, I felt bad for you initially. You were just some kid that got mixed up into Jack's schemes and no one was really there for you. Then, I got to meet Timothy Lawrence and I liked him a lot."

Timothy managed a small smile. "Wish I could've had more time with you-" Rose grabbed Timothy's prosthetic with her own.

"You will. I am going to make sure you will." Timothy's eyes seemed to sparkle in the lights of the stars and it made Rose wish she had a mirror for him. If he saw how his eyes shone so brightly, he'd never had to doubt that he was Timothy.

"Thank you."

* * *

Rose convinced Timothy to get back into the Outrunner to get some sleep. Shortly after, she had woken up Zane as promised and got some sleep herself, this time she was not plagued by nightmares, it was deep and peaceful.

The sun had risen over the horizon and it was back on the road for the couple and Timothy. The conversations between the three were a lot more comfortable. . . that was as long as Jack stayed out of them. Though, aside from that and a few speed bumps (psychos or otherwise) the ride to Hollowpoint was as smooth as ever.

“What exactly are we supposed to be lookin’ for?” Zane asked as he drove through the streets of the Pandoran town.

“Should be a dank little shop ‘round here more than likely is gonna have a medical sign on it. It’ll be the only form of a hospital you’ll see at this place," Jack explained.

“You wanna elaborate on it or are we just going to keep asking questions this whole ride?” Rose asked as Zane turned a corner.

“Secrecy is key here, sweetheart. Have patience.”

“Secrecy to whom? We’re the only ones that know about you being alive.”

“Yeah and I like it to keep it that way. The surgery is gonna take a while which means we’ll be stuck here until ol’ Timmy here is ready. If I keep the next pieces of a plan a secret, the better off we’ll all be.”

“You can justify your lies however you like, I’m still not going to believe them.”

“Fine by me, Rosebud, you just hold up your end of your deal and look pretty.” Rose rolled her eyes.

Zane rolled up to a rundown looking infirmary with a red cross on it. “This seems to be it.” Timothy cinched his hood as Zane parked the Outrunner.

“Alright, kiddos, so here’s the deal. The woman inside this place is gonna pop off my face from Timothy’s. . . but not without blackmail.”

"Of course," the trio muttered in unity.

“Rose, you tell her that Timothy’s met the end of his deal and when she inevitably says she won’t ‘is too dangerous’ let it slip that you can call up Hyperion right then and tell them ‘bout the missing sister of Vladof.”

This seem to spark some recognition in Timothy. “Wait, you can’t be talking about who I think you’re talking about, right?” Timothy asked, chuckling nervously. “It-it _can’t_ be her I mean, she nearly killed me just so that she can heal me! I might die under her care!”

“And you might not, Tim, that’s just a risk we gotta take, alright? Or else you can say sayonara to finally getting what you’ve always wanted.”

“Listen, if this operation is going to be a success how is blackmailing her going to help us here? We might just piss her off to the point of her calling it off and we couldn’t do anything about it because we can’t just call up Hyperion,” Rose explained.

"Why not?"

"They want me dead," Zane said.

“They’ll want to know what happened to the rest of the doppelgangers,” Timothy said.

“And I’m dead to them. Literally. Not to mention who at Hyperion actually takes phone calls from their customers?”

“Eh, we’ll just call another corporation everyone’s been looking for this woman.”

“This doesn’t sound like a very solid plan,” Rose argued.

“It’s the one we got, Rosebud. Take it or leave it.”

Rose sighed. "Come on, boys."

"Alright!" Jack cheered.

“Hush.” Rose placed the strap of the duffel bag onto her shoulder and she didn’t quite like the feeling of comfort once it was in place. Zane and Timothy got out of the car and Rose rushed over to help Zane escort Timothy inside.

The three were greeted by a pale and rather empty waiting room. Rose was going to see where this mysterious surgeon would be when a very. . . sturdy woman emerged from one of the doors, pulling on a protective glove.

"What is problem?"

_ "Doctor" Nina, she mend you REALLY good. _

“Nurse Nina?” Rose said, recognizing the woman from her vending machines back on Helios.

“Ah! Nina did not break kneecaps of teacher to not get diploma. Is Doctor Nina now.”

Timothy looked over fearfully at Rose. “Er- Doctor Nina, our friend here is looking to get something removed,” Rose said, gesturing to the slouching Timothy.

"Is bad posture? Nina can fix."

“Ah, no, something a bit more delicate.” Rose nudged Timothy, signaling him to lift his head a little.

Nina didn’t seem that phased. “Come.” Cautiously the three followed Nina through the door she came from. Once the door was closed, Nina turned to the three, hands on her hips and a smile on her face. “So doppel man, you come back from moon to see little old Nina?”

"You. . . you knew it was me?"

"How could Nina ever forget her first unmaimed patient?"  Though, you could not see what was under Timothy's mask, there's no doubt that he paled at Nina's rhetorical question.

"Um, Nina-" Rose began.

"Doctor Nina."

“Doctor Nina,” Rose corrected, “We were told you’d be able to remove the mask on Timothy’s face without it ending in a horrible explosion. Do you think you could do it?”

“No doubt Nina can, but it’s going to cost you.”

"How much?" Zane asked.

"For surgery and bomb defusal? Ten thousand."

Zane paused, sighing. “I want this lad back in one piece, got it?” he asked as he began to transmit his cash to Nina through his ECHO.

“Nina can do.” Nina smiled. “Doppel man, come with me. You two go wait outside, I will come get when ready.” Nina walked off to what Rose assumed was an operating room.

Timothy looked to the couple in surprise. “I- thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We’ll see ya on the other side, boyo.”

"Doppel man!" Nina called.

Timothy threw a glance at Rose before wrapping his arms tightly around her. Rose smiled. “Everything is going to be fine, Tim, I’ll see you on the other side. Now go before Nina changes her mind.”

Timothy departed, smiling back at Rose before hurrying off after Doctor Nina. “Well, that went better than I thought,” Jack said

“Yeah, what wonders you can do without blackmailing people," Rose said sarcastically.

"And ten thousand dollars," Zane added.

“Where’d you get all that money by the way, Zane?”

"Honestly? I have no clue."


	7. Final Phase

All waiting room chairs are uncomfortable. That is a scientific fact. In no way shape or form could you get comfortable in a waiting room chair. If you ever do manage to fall asleep in one you are either severely lacking sleep or nearing the end of your life. Which is one of the reasons why Rose couldn’t bring herself to sleep.

“Y’sure ya don’t wanna just find a room in a motel? I don’t think Timothy’s gonna be out any time soon," Zane attempted to negotiate.

"I want to be here just in case."

“I don’t know, love, ya get. . . murder-y when ya don’t get sleep.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Rose softly kicked the duffel bag.

"I do not get 'murder-y'."

"Yes, you do," the two men said in unity.

“I watched you single-handedly take down and burn a bandit camp in a night. Ya didn’t even loot it, ya just couldn’t deal wit’ ‘em ‘til morrow.”

“Aww, not fair. I only got stabbed with a fork,” Jack whined.

“Keep your voices down!” she whispered. “In case you two haven’t noticed, we’re not the only ones in the waiting room.”

“Ah, I bet it’s just a couple of whack jobs. I don’t think they’d care,” Jack dismissed.

“He’s got a point. I don’t think that lad with the lazy eye and arm cast is gonna be botherin’ us anytime soon.”

"See? He gets it."

Rose sighed. “I’ve been having nightmares for ten years but none of them can compare to this shit pile.”

"It always could be worse," Zane said.

"Don't say that. Something worse always happens when people say that," Rose said.

“Hey.” Zane placed his hand over Rose’s. “Everything’s gonna be fine, alright? I promised Timothy that and now I’m promisin’ you that. The doc’s in there now doin’ her damnedest and Timothy’s gonna come out fine.”

“Exactly. We cannot go wrong with this plan. It’s foolproof.”

“Yeah, just like your plan to wake the Warrior was just flawless.”

“Things get messy sometimes. But what matters is, I learned from my mistakes and I got a couple of friends with me this time, eh?”

“If by friends you mean people that are more than happy to kill you then I suppose so.”

"Yeah, that's the spirit."

* * *

Hours went by like this with patients shuffling in and out occasionally. Rose was tired, but sleep was not exactly an easy thing to come by. Luckily, Zane was there to keep her sane as the sun began to rise.

Rose and Zane turned to the doctor expectantly. “Is done. Doppel man is good.”

"Can we see him?" Rose asked.

"You family?"

"Friends," Rose said.

“No can do. Only family can see him at this stage.”

Jack cleared his throat, drawing the couple's attention. "Ask for the mask," he whispered.

"What?"

"Just do it."

Rose looked back at Nina. "Could we at least have his mask?" Nina raised an eyebrow.

"It's important to the lad," Zane explained.

“Sure, Nina don’t see why not. She’ll go fetch.” Nina disappeared behind the door and a moment later she came back with Timothy’s mask in hand. “Be careful with this. Bad face to have around.”

Rose carefully took the mask in her hand and quickly placed it into the duffel bag. “We will, thank you, Ni-“ Rose saw the stern expression on Nina’s face and corrected her sentence, “Doctor Nina.”

“Is no problem. Now, Nina give you contact information if you want to leave and wait until doppel man can have visitors,” Nina explained as she displayed her ECHO Net number.

"That won't be necessary, doc, we don't plan to leave-" Zane began to say.

“Take number,” Nina insisted. “Nina doesn’t get many calls.” 

After a little hesitance, Zane took her number. “Alright then, doc.”

“Good. Nina will get you when doppel man is ready.” Once again, Nina left, leaving the couple to their own devices.

Jack groaned. “Are we really going to just sit around until Timothy is ready?”

“Yes, because unlike you, we’re not assholes,” Rose said as she sat back down.

“Oh, when did you become so boring, Rosebud?” That did it.

“I think everything I’m doing now is anything but boring. My psychopathic ex shows up on my doorstep in a friggin’ gun and now instead of just chucking him out of a friggin’ window like I should've I’m going on this long, soul-searching journey just to kill him. Which ends up probably being worse than to just let him out in the world because I have to deal with his ass every single damn day. Henceforth, living my worst goddamn nightmare!”

“. . . Y’sure that’s all, pumpkin? Don’t think you got everything out of your system there.”

Rose stood up, grabbing the bag. "I'm chucking him."

Zane placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder and pushed her back down into her seat. “ _Alright_ , lass. Let’s just sit back down. Tim’s gonna be out soon let’s just- not throw away everythin’ and murder anyone for the time bein’.”

Still angry, Rose placed her head on Zane’s shoulder. “When did you become the voice of reason?”

Zane wrapped an arm around Rose’s shoulders, holding her close to him. “I didn’t. You’re takin’ up the role as soon as you get some sleep.”

"I'm fine, Zane."

“Rose, I love ya to bits, but let’s just say I wouldn’t trust you around any silverware right about now.” Jack guffawed. “You hush up.”

“Careful, gramps, keep talking like that and you’ll end up just like my grandma.”

Zane rolled his eye. “Whatever you say, boyo.” Zane turned to Rose, his demeanor shifting to a more softer one. He pressed a kiss atop of her head. “You try to get some sleep, love.” Rose, not having the energy to argue, closed her eyes and the discomfort of the waiting room chair slowly disappeared.

* * *

Rose snorted awake, causing Zane to turn to her while she attempted to shake away the fear her nightmare left behind.

“All right there, love?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good," she lied. "Weird dream is all.”

“Well, as long as you’re not havin’ nightmares again.”

“Yeah,” Rose said, not ready to talk about her nightmares.

Nina emerged once more. “He’s up. You can go in now.”

“Great,” Rose said groggily. She stood up, grabbing the duffel bag and followed the doctor to Timothy’s room. Nina stopped in front of the room and opened the door for Rose.

“Try not to excite him. Doppel man should be calm for the time being.” Rose nodded before walking into the room, Zane close behind.

Timothy was quietly staring up at the ceiling, seemingly unaware of his guests. Rose smiled sweetly as she approached him. “How are you feeling, Tim?” Timothy turned, revealing his full face. It brought Rose some relief. 

He'd managed to grow some facial hair and it seemed he gotten Nina to add some freckles while he was under. The differences somewhat made up for the sickeningly familiar V shaped scar.

Timothy smiled back. "I. . . actually feel good."

“Huh. Wasn’t expectin’ freckles, but it looks good on ya, boyo.”

“Yeah, I slipped that doctor an extra thousand to get these done. Do not regret it.”

“Won’t Rhys be surprised,” Rose remarked.

Timothy’s smile faded. “Oh yeah, I forgot. I told him I was out to help the Vault Hunters.”

“Eh, I’m sure if ya just tell ‘im Tannis managed to fix you up while you were at it he won’t bat an eye.”

"You think?"

“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” Zane said, waving a dismissive hand. “Tannis has so many projects I don’t think she’ll even reject the idea of removin’ yer mask.”

"One less thing to worry about."

"You're welcome," Jack chimed.

"Yeah, not thanking you."

“Ah, c’mon, kiddo, I’m the one that orchestrated all of this.”

"For your own benefit."

“Do my motives really matter? I mean, you got what you wanted and now we’re only one step away from killing me.”

“And are you actually going to tell us about that or. . . ?” Rose asked.

“Gotta wait for blondie to take a hint.”

Zane rolled an eye. “I don’t see why I need to step out, I know just as much as ‘em.”

Jack chuckled. “Yeah, ya think ya do, but ya don’t. Get movin’.”

“Fine. Ya know the drill, love. Give me a shout if ya need anythin’.” Zane gave Rose a peck on the cheek before taking his leave.

"Is he gone?" Jack asked.

“Yep. Get to it,” Rose said.

“Alright. There’s an old Hyperion HQ out in the desert somewhere. You’ll need to plug in the ECHO Eye implant into something to find it. There, we’ll have to find a little lab where I first started programming for Hyperion.”

"Ending it where it began." Rose concluded.

“Exactly! Once there, I’ll show ya how to end this all.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “What’s the catch?”

"Blondie's gotta go."

"What?!" Rose and Timothy exclaimed

“I’m not having a Crimson Raider at my funeral. You two are the only ones that are sending me off, alright?”

“And how do we know this isn’t some elaborate plan to get us alone and kill us?” Timothy asked.

“Oh, I’d never kill Rose.” Timothy looked to the duffel bag nervously. “Listen, you two have come this far. If you turn back now, you’ll be letting me out into the world to shoot up any and all who get in my way. Do you really want that, Timmy? The blood of thousands on your hands?”

"Okay, we get it, quit guilt tripping him. I’ll talk to Zane. Timothy, you should get Nina to sign you out while I’m at it. This conversation is not going to be short."

“I knew I could count on you, Rosebud.”

“Don’t make me regret this.” She exited the infirmary to have a rather long talk with her boyfriend.


	8. The Resting Place

Rose held tightly to Zane before departing, his warm smile a great contrast to her look of concern.

“Just in case I’m wrong about all of this and this goes to absolute shit I just need to say that, Zane, I don’t know where I would be without you. I’m so happy you’ve been with me and supported me even after knowing about me and Jack and-“

“Lass,” Rose quieted, “it’s gonna be alright. Yer judgement is a hellu’ve a lot better than most and if it ain’t this time, I’ll be here faster than you can say me full name. Middle names an’ all. Alright?”

Rose nodded. “Alright.” Rose got up onto her toes, giving him a kiss goodbye.

“I’ll make sure to say hi to Daisy and Moxxi for ya.”

“Actually, uh, could-could you just um, take this note to her?” Rose fished out a piece of paper she had folded up in her pocket.

Zane smirked. “So, I’m passin’ love letters now, am I?”

Rose rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to smile. “It’s not a love letter.”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I took a peek-“

“Zane. Don’t you dare.” The Vault Hunter grinned as he unfolded her note. “Zane!” Rose attempted to grab the note as Zane continued to read out loud.

“ ‘Dear Moxxi, since you went through the trouble o’ writin’ me a letter I thought I’d return the gesture’-“

"Zane, I'm gonna kill you!"

“ ‘I can’t send o’er booze, but thought I’d send o’er my _love_ ’!” Zane cackled. “I knew it!” Rose punched Zane in the arm as he folded the note back up, leaving the rest of the note unread luckily. “Aw, love, I don’t mean no harm. I think it’s great yer patchin’ things up wit’ Moxxi.”

Rose’s eyebrows raised. “Really? You’re. . . not even mad?”

“Love, you’re talkin’ to the man who can’t even name all o’ his spouses. I don’t hiss at whoever you get your eyes on if that’s what you’re gettin’ at.” Zane pocketed her note. “But, I would like to go o’er what ya wanna do when ya get back. I’m all for Moxxi bein’ a part of this, but if that’s not what you want or what she wants I’d like to know.” Rose furrowed her eyebrows, the possibilities beginning to flood her mind.

Zane placed his hands on Rose’s waist, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Don’t feel pressured by it, though. I’ll support ya, no matter what ya pick. Remember that, alright?”

A soft smile made its way on Rose’s lips. “Alright.” Zane leaned down, kissing her one last time before leaning his forehead against her own.

"You be careful."

"You too." Zane smiled before pulling away and turning to the Fast Travel.

"I'll see ya, lass!"

Rose waved as Zane punched in the coordinates for Sanctuary. “Bye, Zane.” In an instant, he was gone. Rose’s smile slowly faded as she turned toward the Outrunner with Timothy and Jack inside.

She scratched her hand and made her way to the vehicle and climbed in. She checked the rearview mirror, seeing Timothy typing away at his laptop. “How’s it coming, Tim?”

“The ECHO drive is all ready to go and I think I’ve gotten rid of all of the files I don’t want whatever is in this thing to get its hands on.”

“Well, let’s get to it, kiddo. Not dying any faster here.” Timothy took out an ECHO drive from his pocket and prepared to insert it into his laptop.

"Why do you have that?" Rose asked in pure curiousity.

“Rhys usually needs a download or two every now and again. He gave this to me just in case he lost his own.”

“Hope he hasn’t needed any downloads recently then,” Rose said. Timothy’s eyebrows raised. He hadn’t thought about that.

“He-. . . he’s probably fine.” Timothy finished typing and stared at the ECHO drive. “Alright, this is it. The thing that’s going to-“

“Skip the monologue, cupcake and get to it.”

Timothy sighed. “Fine.” He inserted the drive into his laptop and all there was left was to wait.

"Well? Is it working?" Jack asked impatiently.

"I don't know, nothing's happening-"

“ _What in the fresh hell is this?”_ a distorted voice erupted from the speakers. After a pause came a soft chuckling. “ _Either you’ve made a mistake or you really_ ** _are_** _stupid, Rhysie._ ”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Wait- wait a minute, no. No, do not fucking tell me-!” Rose said as she twisted in her seat.

“ _Rosebud?”_ Timothy jumped at something on the screen. “ _Well, hey there, good looking. What-what’s up with my face there? I don’t have freckles the last time I checked. Or scruff, though I'm kinda digging it. I also don’t go around without a mask on. Didn’t I have some bomb implanted there-?”_

Rose spun Tim’s laptop around and her heart nearly stopped at the sight of his face. He grinned. “ _Hey there, sweetheart. I thought you were dead. Guess we’re both cheating death, huh?”_

"There was another AI of you?!" Rose exclaimed.

“Yeah, sorry, had that whack job. . . uh, Makiyami or some shit issue it for a kind of an ‘in case of death’.” Oh, Rose was going to have a long talk with Rhys after this is over.

The AI quirked an eyebrow, trying to peer around Rose. “ _How many doppels you got with you there, pumpkin? . . . Should I be jealous?”_

“Christ, just- do you remember creating a gun you put a different AI in?”

“ _Oh! The Jackhammer. I thought that was still a prototype._ ”

“Yeah, no. We need this location for some Hyperion HQ, do you have it?”

Jack smiled smugly. “ _What’s the magic word?”_

Rose groaned. "Please?"

“ _That’s what I like to hear! All right, let me get a look at the ol’ files and. . . got it! You're on Pandora, right, cupcake?”_

"Yes."

“ _Perfect, tracking you on satellite and. . . viola!_ ” The AI pulled up a GPS, showing Rose their route. “ _No need to applaud, I know, I’m amazing._

"God, I love the sound of my own voice."

“ _It’s great, right?”_

"We really should've done more voice work."

“ _Being able to hear our own voice at any turn. . ._ ”

“We wouldn’t be able to get any work done.” The Jacks laughed.

“Oh, I did not miss this,” Timothy said quietly.

“If you’d kindly shut up before I get a migraine, that’d be great,” Rose said, placing the laptop atop the dashboard and firing up the engine.

“ _I think she means you, freckles.”_

* * *

They say that the coldest night of winter was right before the spring and up until now Rose didn’t believe that. With the two Jacks having their banter and incessant flirting it was very hard for Rose to not just drive the car off a cliff.

But, she had to see this through. . . and also not unintentionally kill Timothy. Though, going off the look on his face it didn’t seem like he’d entirely object careening off a cliff. He’d probably suggest a nice little pond and electrify it instead of having to deal with heights.

Much to the non-Jacks relief they had finally come upon an abandoned looking Hyperion headquarters.

“ _You’ve reached your destination._ ” The GPS disappeared, revealing Jack’s face once again, much to Rose’s dismay. “ _It’s show time, kiddos._ ” Rose rolled her eyes, taking the laptop into her arms and kicking open the door to the Outrunner.

"Tim, get the Jackhammer?"

"On it."

Rose hopped out and waited for Timothy to come around with the duffel bag, it's strap over his shoulder. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Rose slowly let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Alright, let’s go.” The two walked side by side into the headquarters.

Mother nature had taken hold of the place, the few things of Pandora’s plant life taking hold as well as the rust, defacing multiple posters and sections of the facility. “This is. . . extremely creepy,” Tim admitted.

"At least we didn't come here at night," Rose said.

“You guys should’ve seen this place in its prime. It was one of the better Hyperion stations.”

“ _No orgy rooms, though._ ”

“Or airlocks.”

“ _Ohoho, what I wouldn’t give to launch someone out of an airlock right about now._ ”

“What are we looking for exactly?” Rose asked, ceasing the banter between the two Jacks.

“ _There should be an elevator up ahead that’ll take you down to a stairway. There, we’ll find the lab and get everything set up._ ” Rose and Timothy continued walking ahead until they reached the elevator . . . well, the doorway where an elevator should be.

“Uh, yeah, there’s a problem with that.” Rose turned the laptop around to the elevator shaft.

The AI sighed. “ _Alright, no problem, we’ll just have to use the stairs. Y’know, unless you like rope burn or broken legs._ ” Rose looked over to see a rusted door that seemed to be the entrance to the stairs.

Rose walked over and attempted to open it, only finding that it was locked. “Shit!”

“Here, let me try.” Timothy jiggled the handle before ramming his shoulder into the door until it hurt. “Ow!”

“We’re going to have to find another way there.” Rose bit the inside of her cheek, trying to think of what they could do.

“ _Uh, yeah, dumb-dumbs, you got metal hands._ ”

The Jackhammer cackled. “They did not just try to open the door with anything but their hands.”

“ _I know, you’d expect more from Rose, wouldn’t you?”_ Timothy shot a glare at his laptop. He gripped the doorknob with his left hand and twisted, the handle popping right off. He reached through the hole and unlocked the door, pushing it open.

The AI snickered. “Hush,” Rose said.

Rose and Timothy made their descent, anxiety building with each and every step. The dim, flickering fluorescence didn’t exactly help the mood.

“ _One more flight should do it,_ ” Jack said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

It wasn’t like the two could’ve gone down another flight after this, the stairway ended there. Tim did the honors of opening the door, using his right hand this time.

The knob popped off with ease and after a moment, the door opened, unveiling a dim little lab. 

Currently, only the observation part of it was accessible.  Control panels and cold, black televisions lining the windows looking into the lab that was filled with tubes, gadgets and human sized pods. “Oh, this just got creepier.” Rose’s body by now was begging her to stop now, but she ignored it for now and pushed on.

“Well, good news, you won’t have to be here for long, this is the easy part,” the gun explained.

“That’s a first,” Rose and Tim muttered in unison

“ _Alright, so here’s the deal. We need to get the Jackhammer on the other side of that glass there and in order to do that I’m going to need. . . uh, Jimmy?”_

“Timothy.”

“ _Whatever. I’m going to need you to get me into that console. I'll take care of everything from there._ ” Rose passed the laptop over to Timothy as he pulled out the ECHO drive.

"Glad I didn't leave this in the car," he murmured.

“ _Wait for me will ya, Rosebud?”_ Jack said with a wink.

“Don’t count on it.” Timothy got the AI out of his computer and shut the laptop, setting it aside.

"I really hope he didn't go through my computer."

“Don’t worry, Tim, I already know what you’re into,” the Jackhammer assured.

“Oh, great.” Tim Jacked in the drive into the console and watched as lights flickered on as well as monitors. Soon enough, the door to the observation part of the lab had opened.

“The door’s opened?”

“Yep,” Rose answered.

“Alright then, sweetheart, you’re up. Go on in. Tim, stay here and man the controls.”

"Why? Isn't your AI supposed to take care of everything from here?"

“Listen, Timmy, I know it’s me, but the AI can only do so much. It’s still a bunch of code. So less yappy more tappy, got it?”

Timothy sighed, handing the bag to Rose. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

“Atta boy. C’mon, cupcake, let’s get a move on.” Slowly, Rose forced herself into the lab where a single pedestal stood in front of one of the pods. Rose didn't feel safe being in the lab. It felt as if she was surrounded “Now if you could take me out of this bag. . .”

Rose unzipped the duffel bag and fished the gun out, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of it. “Oh, it feels good to be outta there.”

"Do you even have physical sensation?"

“No. But I can see and let me tell ya, it ain’t pretty in there, Rosebud.”

"Good."

“Um, could we get on with this?” Timothy asked, becoming impatient.

“Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. Set me down on that pedestal there, would you, sweetheart?” Rose silently set Jack down, feeling a burden lift from her.

She grabbed the mask from her bag. “I’m guessing you want this too?”

"Eh, hold onto it."

“I’m giving it to my Skag as soon as you’re gone, you know that right?”

"Least you're nice enough to wait."

“ _Jackhammer detected, DNA required to continue,_ ” the Hyperion voice announced, startling both Rose and Timothy.

“Oh, that doesn’t mean what I think it means, does it?”

“It’s just a prick, Tim, honestly you probably won’t even feel it.”

"I swear, if you make an innuendo out of that-" Rose began.

"That's what she said."

Rose shook her head. "Please, end my misery, Tim."

"Ah, you love it."

Tim looked down despairingly at the console, Rose assumed some sort of needle had presented itself. He sighed and stuck his good hand into something Rose couldn’t see, wincing slightly.

“ _DNA collected. Initiating process._ ” The gun de-segmented itself, the sounds of gears being turned filled the silence of the facility.

“This is it. I’ll see you guys on the other side.”

“Thought there wasn’t an other side,” Rose commented.

“You know what I mean.” The motors silenced as well as the gun, the lights dimming.

Timothy and Rose looked about. “Was. . . was that it? Is it over?” Timothy asked.

A hissing occured in front of Rose, she looked up, seeing a steam escaping from the pod. Without thinking, she reached for her pistol. . . only to find it wasn’t there. She must have left it in the car.

"What is that?"

"Stay there, Timothy!"

The tube flipped up, steam billowing out from the pod. “ _ Process complete. _ ” From it, a figure emerged, taking shaky first steps. “ _ Welcome back, handsome. _ ” The steam cleared, revealing. . .

_Jack, lewd, rude, and nude._

He grinned. “Missed me?”


	9. Jack in the Saddle Again

Rose was in shock. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak. It was as if she was reliving her very own nightmare.

Jack walked up to her, and placed his finger under her chin, closing her mouth. “Don’t want you catching flies, do we?” He patted her cheek then took the mask from her fingers. “I’ll be taking that.” He slipped it on with ease and clipped the latches on. “That’s better.”

He looked over her shoulder at Tim who was in just as much shock as she was. “Hey, kiddo, there’s an emergency kit behind you, get the emergency blanket and toss it to me, huh?” Jack paused for a moment, waiting on Timothy to do something, but to no avail. “Now!”

Out of fear, Timothy complied, hurriedly getting the blanket and tossing it to Jack. “Little bit more hustle next time, ‘kay, Timmy?” He wrapped it around his hips and tucked it. He then looked to the two expectantly. “Well, is someone gonna speak up or what?”

“You bastard!” Rose exclaimed, more impulse than anything. “You did all of this to make us do your fucking dirty work!” Rose went to hit him when he caught her wrist.

"Language, pumpkin."

“I’m going to kill you!” Rose lurched forward, wrapping her hands around his neck as he cackled.

“Nice to see you still got that fire in you!” Jack said, placing his hands atop of Rose’s, but not exactly prying at them. “You’re doing it wrong, you really gotta press down with your thumbs-“ he wheezed, “there ya go.”

“I think I’m gonna pass out,” Timothy said finally.

“That’s what I would say if you’d use that metal hand, c’mon, Rosie, put some elbow grease into it!”

"Stop telling me how to strangle you!"

“I would if you could!” Abruptly, Rose’s ECHO began to ring. Jack grinned, raising an eyebrow. “You gonna get that?”

Rose scowled at Jack. “Goddamnit,” she hissed before letting go and answering her ECHO. Jack stood to full height, rubbing his neck. “This better be good.”

“Hello to you too, sugar.” Rose’s eyes widened at the sound of Moxxi’s voice. “Is this a bad time?”

"Yeah, you could say that," Jack said, earning a glare from Rose.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Uh- listen, Moxx, if you could maybe call me back later that'd be great. I'm kinda. . . in the middle of something."

"That's generous," Jack spoke once more.

"Is Timothy with you?"

“Yeah, sorry, we’re in the middle of a bandit camp right now. I’ll call you back, take care!” Rose hung up and groaned.

Jack chuckled. "Real smooth there, pumpkin."

"You were not helping."

“What are we going to do?” Timothy abruptly asked. “We can’t just hand him over to the Raiders, they’ll friggin’ kill us for resurrecting Handsome Jack!”

Rose thought for a moment. "Zane. Zane will-"

“Rosebud, don’t you remember? He thinks you went out here to kill me. And you’re just going to bring your fiancé up to him hoping he’ll understand? C’mon, you’re smarter than that.”

"Zane. . . Zane wouldn't-"

“He’s a Crimson Raider, cupcake. Whether he wants to or not he’s gotta consider you as hostile unless he wants his head on a stick. And I already know what you’re thinking, Tim. Forget about Rhys. As soon as he knows you used his ECHO implant for this, you can say bye-bye to your cushy little intern job and possibly your life. So, for the well-being of both of you I’d silence your ECHOs and come with me to find some goddamn pants. And a vending machine. I haven’t eaten in like. . . ten years.”

* * *

Jack sighed, tossing the now empty bag of pretzels over his shoulder. “Of course, the one thing that survived was frickin’ pretzels.”

“Well, we’re not entirely sure if they ‘survived’,” Rose corrected. “Which when you get sick if you puke anywhere except out the window I am killing you for real and tossing your body into a bandit camp.”

“Sure, when you learn how to strangle someone.” Rose shook her head, scratching her prosthetic. “What’s with the scratching there? Don’t tell me there’s pain receptors in that hunk of junk.”

"That's none of your goddamn business."

"I think it's my business when my fiancée-"

"I'm not your fiancée."

Jack quirked an eyebrow. “Really? And why do you say that?” Rose turned to Jack, a stern expression on her face. She opened her mouth, prepared to spew everything she had bottled up for Jack when Timothy came over with his extra pair of jeans and a hoodie.

“I would ask for these back, but I don’t know where you’ve been.”

“Eh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t have given them back anyway.”

Without warning, Jack took off the emergency blanket and began dressing himself. Timothy and Rose looked away with exclamations of disgust. "It's nothing either of you haven't seen before."

"A little warning still would've been nice," Tim said.

Once dressed, Jack clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's pack up and get moving, kiddos we've gotta get me to Opportunity and get things rolling again."

Rose grabbed Jack's arm, stopping him in his tracks. "You're crazy if you think you're going to waltz into Opportunity and just take back control."

"And what makes you think that, Rosebud?"

"Get this through your thick skull. You."

"Uh-huh."

"Are."

"Yeah?"

" _Dead,_ " Rose overenunciated.

"Your point?"

"People don't come back from the dead! They will believe anything else _before_ they even think that you can possibly be back! Anything including trying to break into Hyperion's ranks which puts me and Tim in deep fucking shit and I am not burying us any further."

Jack smiled. "In shit?"

"Yes, Jack. In shit. In _your_ shit. So unless you want the only two people that can deal with your shit to end up with a bullet in their brains or worse, having jumper cables strapped to our unmentionables I'd cool your hot ass down and think this through."

"Uh-huh and who do you think has the power here, pumpkin?"

"Neither of us, we're at a stalemate. Me and Tim can't go back after unleashing you, you won't go on without us because we are all you have left." Rose was right and Jack didn't seem to like that.

He sighed. "Alright, alright. Got me pinned." Jack took a moment to think. He snapped his fingers. "What if I can ensure the safety of you and Tim?"

"How?" Timothy asked.

"Well, it's gonna be tricky."

"Of course it is," Rose said with a huff.

"I had a little side team for situations. . . adjacent to this one. They erase some files, slap on new ones to make sure that no one can tie you to me. If something goes wrong, you get the hell out of dodge, I get the blame."

"And how we know they're even still active?" Rose asked.

"During the Helios crash I got my hands on some files and they had actually grown in size due to all the creeps we had on board. Pretty sure if you can get in contact with someone on the inside I can get you the codes to set you up."

Rose bit the inside of her cheek, mulling this over. "Tim, you still know anyone in Hyperion?"

"Everyone I know is either dead or has quit."

"Same here." Rose looked to Jack sternly. "I know the answer to this question but do you still know anyone of use at Hyperion?"

"Uh. . . no."

"That's what I thought." She took out her ECHO, prepared to dial.

"Uh, what are you doing there, pumpkin?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You still remember your ECHO login?"

* * *

The three had gotten back into the Outrunner so that they could continue their mission a little more safely.

"All I'm saying is it'll be easier if you just handed the ECHO device to me, I mean it's my account."

"If I can't trust you with nothing on your person I can't trust you with an ECHO, my ECHO at that."

"Like I'd do anything to your ECHO. . . that'd you know about."

"Uh-huh." Just as Rose was going to search Jack's contacts a message popped up from Zane. Rose bit her lip as she extended the preview of it.

" _is everything alright? Mox says you're in a bandit camp_ "

Hesitantly, Rose ignored the message and went on. Her finger hovered over the confirm button, looking down skeptically at Jack's contacts.

Rose turned to Jack, fearful. ". . . What exactly am I going to find here?"

"Honestly? I have no clue." Rose looked back down at her ECHO, grimacing.

Timothy placed his hand on her shoulder. "Godspeed."

Rose took in a breath before pressing the button. She saw a multitude of names varying from lewd, rude, and what Rose hoped to be misconstrued.

"Christ, Jack these are all. . ."

"Hilarious? Brilliant? Charming?"

"Encrypted. I mean, how am I supposed to know who Wallethead is?"

Jack began laughing hysterically. "Oh, I forgot about him. The dude was going through hair implants and-" Jack interrupted himself with his own laughter, "and I used to stick money to his head!" Rose rolled her eyes as Jack slowly settled down. "Oh, he's dead now," he said, the echoes of laughter still in his voice.

"Do you remember what ridiculous nickname you gave this team?" Rose asked.

"Alright, alright, give me a second." Jack took in a breath, finally coming down from the laughter. "Try looking for. . . Pervert's Paradise."

"Clever," Rose commented sarcastically.

"Thanks, babe."

* * *

Looking for Jack's clean up crew was an activity that caused Pandora's brutal sun to set. Going through puns and poor jokes and degrading nicknames for that long left both Rose and Timothy drained. Hell, Jack even seemed to be getting tired of it.

"Check. . . Tassiter's Browser History."

"We've checked that five times now," Timothy said.

"Well, check it again, we have to check every option, people."

Rose shook her head. "How did you _ever_ find anything if this is how you organize?"

"At the time, it was effective."

"Always living in the moment," Timothy muttered.

"Hey, it's how I survived."

"Says the man that had to be brought back," Rose reminded.

"Twice," Timothy added, recalling the AI.

"Twice is generous. Baba Yaga's AI was hardly what I'd call living."

"Christ, you can't be grateful for anything, can you?" Rose said.

Jack slowly slid up onto his elbows, looking into the rearview mirror at Rose. "Excuse me?"

Rose set down her ECHO, meeting his cruel eyes in the mirror. "Nothing was ever enough for you. Not your job, not your friends, not your own damn family-!"

Jack fully sat up, prompting Timothy to twist in the passenger seat, a hand on Rose's pistol. Rose turned around to stare down Jack. The man in question glanced between the two, eventually settling on Rose.

"You were enough, weren't you?" he finally said.

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Was I?"

"Rosebud-"

"Shh."

"No, I-" Rose hushed him again and for once, Jack listened upon seeing the look on her face.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear. . . what?"

Rose looked over Jack's shoulder, seeing a vehicle in the distance, barreling toward them.

Tim followed her gaze. "That. . . can't be good." Confused, Jack peered over his shoulder.

Jack chuckled. "Oh, I couldn't disagree more, Tim. Because to me, that looks like a bandwagon of bandits that looks just a little too full."

Rose pocketed her ECHO. "Ohhh no. Until we get this protection team sorted out _you_ keep your head low and your mouth shut. Same goes for you, Tim."

"Aw, what did I do?"

"Volunteered to look and sound like Pandora's most hated dictator," Rose explained as she started up the car. Hurriedly, Timothy ducked down. "Strap in, boys! We're in for a ride!"

"Ohoho, I like the sound of that."

Rose didn't exactly wait for Jack to actually prepare himself before slamming on the gas, speeding off into the desert, the vehicle in high pursuit. "They're gaining on us!" Timothy warned.

"Let me worry about the bandits, Tim, you keep your head down!"

"Okay, but if we die-"

"We're not going to die! And especially not with this bastard!"

"Still here, y'know!"  


"Shut up!" Timothy and Rose yelled over the roaring of the engines.

For a Technical it wasn't having a hard time keeping up with the Outrunner. Rose sighed. "Hold onto something."

"What?" Timothy said, anxiety only increasing in his voice. She took a sharp turn, causing the wheels on the right side of the vehicle to lift ever so slightly before slamming back down.

Timothy's screams were a massive contrast to Jack's cackling, yet they still somehow managed to merge into a noise that was somewhat cohesive.

The turn had thrown the vehicle off for a moment, giving Rose a bit of a head start. Though, not much.

"What is up with these assholes?! They usually give up by now!" Timothy exclaimed.

"Yeah, well these obviously aren't our run-of-the-mill assholes," Rose explained. "So, I'd be prepared for anything right about now."

The Technical had caught up and seemed to be aiming for the Outrunner's bumper, but no psychos came clambering onto the roof, no guns were fired, no attempt to actually harm the Outrunner was made, confusing Rose. But, she gave it no more thought, she instead began to strategize.

Rose began to serpentine, deciding to save the more risky options for when it gets truly desperate. Still, the Technical did not dare to let up, making the situation all the more dire.

_ Thunk _

Something landed on the roof.

"Timothy," Rose called.

"Yeah?"

"Grab my gun." Timothy didn't waste time asking questions, he produced Rose's pistol and she grabbed it. "Jack, what are we dealing with?" Rose asked, knowing Jack should have a clear view of the gunner seat hatch.

"I don't know, I can't. . ." Jack trailed off.

"What? What is it?!" Rose asked frantically.

"Hit the brake."  


"What?!" Rose and Timothy cried.

"Hit the brake! Now!" Rose slammed on the brake, the Technical finally swerving off of the trail and flipping onto its back. Whatever was on the car had flown off.

Rose looked up at the windshield as the dust settled. A big, blue arm had sprouted from the ground, catching Zane. Rose gasped in horror. "You- you-"

"I know, Rosebud, but the Vault Hunters are here, we can't stay. We gotta go." The arm lowered, placing Zane down. Rose's heart was pounding. She hasn't felt this way since Helios's Eye had been destroyed.

"I-I can't just leave him!"

"You said it yourself, you can't go back, not with me in the backseat and definitely not after this."

"You're an asshole," Rose said, pure anger and sadness dripping from her voice.

Jack placed his hand on Rose's shoulder. "I know," he said so softly you could almost call it comfort.

Fighting the overwhelming feeling of grief, Rose drove off, feeling sicker than ever.


	10. Search Party

Zane watched as Rose sped off into the night. He laid back on the hard, sandy ground below him and sighed.

"Shite." His girlfriend just launched him off a car. And though, he must admit it was kinda fun, things couldn't be worse.

A few days ago she called him up upon finding a gun with what could be the last remaining piece of Handsome Jack inside. Knowing of his girlfriend's history with the dictator he made sure that she was supported every step of the way on destroying the gun. And look where that's got him.

He doubted that it was Rose's intention to launch him off of a car going off the look on her face, but with her driving off rather than coming out and apologizing he also doubted that she was out of danger.

"Zane! Are you alright?" The Siren called.

"I'm okay!" The Operative sat up only to pause at the pain that shot through his arm. Must've horribly crashed on it wrong.

Carefully, Zane got up onto his feet. "Meat-Thief, get back here!" The Jabber in question ran past Zane, kicking up dirt as they did so. Zane's eyes followed up to the robot responsible for the ferocious beast, a Spiderant sticking out from the top of their cloak. "All of the obedient training for this."

_FL4K, has a heart of gold and a couple of human ones too._

"Where are the Skags?" Zane asked.

"Moze has them," FL4K informed quickly before running off to catch their runaway. "I will withdraw treats, don't try me, beast!"

Looking past the Siren flipping the Technical back onto its wheels, Zane found the Gunner, treating Mr. Chew for injuries while a perfectly fine Daisy waited beside him patiently. Zane made his way over. "Hold still, Chewy!"

_Moze, Ten Hut!_

"Are they gonna be okay?"

"Well, FL4K said Skags aren't too far from human anatomy at least compared to most animals and going off of my knowledge on what the inside of people look like. . ." Mr. Chew stood up, a makeshift cast wrapped around his front leg and sat down, panting happily. Moze smiled, satisfied with her work. "I think they'll be all right." Moze looked over at Zane. "What about you? You look. . . a little worse than usual."

"Thank you for noticin', I've broken a bone recently. . . I think."

"Should be nothing a medkit won't fix. . . probably. If not, you might wanna see Amara about that."

"Can she heal other people?"

Moze shrugged. "She heals herself. How hard can a man a foot taller than her and twenty pounds lighter be?"

Zane narrowed his eyes. "I feel like that should be an answer ya should know. I mean, Amara is yer girlfriend an' all."

"Oh, I wouldn't be one to talk about what I know and not know about my girlfriend right now."

She's got him there. "Fair point. I'm ah. . . I'm gonna see if Amara has some meds."

"Good luck," Moze dismissed, moving onto Daisy's treatment.

Zane turned around only to freeze as the Technical flipped back over onto its wheels. "Hoo! I should include this in my workout routine." From around the car came

 _Amara, The_ _Tiger_.

"You'll regret it come leg day."

"That is something I will worry about when the time comes. Unlike that arm which is just. . . nasty."

"Face is untouched though, right? I don't know if I can live with that one."

"Oh, I don't know. You could spend a couple thousand for a nice, pale mask. I'm sure Rose would love it."

Zane's friendly expression soured. "Hardy-har-har, me girlfriend used to bump uglies with Handsome Jack. I get it."

"Seems like she's still-"

"Ya got meds or not?"

After looking at Zane sternly Amara spoke. "I don't, but I've got something else that'll work." The Siren stepped up to the Operative and grabbed his arm.

"Wha- what're you doin'-?" Without warning, Amara reset his arm causing Zane to yelp. Her tattoos glowed brightly under the moonlight as the blue traveled down from her arm into Zane's.

"There, all done. No need to thank me."

"I think I might've misspoke when I said I was all in for surprises," Zane said through clenched teeth.

Amara smiled. "Don't think you did." Amara looked over at FL4K who was currently scolding their Jabber for running off. Meat-Thief didn't seem to be taking it seriously. "I'm going to have a talk with FL4K and see if we can put Meat-Thief to work. No doubt whoever was in that car is going to try to lose Rose's ECHO after we tracked it. After that, we're going to meet back up here and come up with some strategies."

"Sounds like a plan."

"As much of a plan we can afford with all of this secrecy." Amara walked off to go convene with FL4K, leaving Zane to his own devices.

He's going to need to find another way to gently break it to them that it was Rose behind the wheel. No doubt their suspicions in her will only rise. Tensions were already high between Rose and the Vault Hunters ever since the casino and they were practically ready for - what Zane hoped - her incapacitation after hearing about the Jackhammer. 

But, he won't allow that to happen to Rose. Even if that means going off on his own, he's going to get her out of this mess.

Amara came jogging back, FL4K and Meat-Thief in tow. "Moze! Get over here!"

"In a sec, babe!"

"Now!" Amara commanded. Without another moment, Moze came running over, the Skags trailing behind with their own casts.

"Find something?" Moze inquired.

"Getting a call from Rhys." Oh. Yeah. Zane nearly forgot about Rhys's involvement in this mess. . . . Wait, what was his deal?

The Vault Hunters gathered around as Amara pressed call, putting the CEO on speaker. "Hey! Vault Hunters! Been a while, hasn't it?"

Rhys was a nervous man - that is fairly evident - but, he sounded more on edge than usual.

"What's the problem, Rhys?" Amara asked.

"Well. . . I guess I'm going to start with this. I may or may not have hired one of Handsome Jack's old doppelgangers to work as my intern. . . ."

"You mean Timothy?" FL4K said.

"Oh. Thought there was going to be more backlash than that."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Zane commented.

Amara casted an annoyed glance at Zane before looking back down at her ECHO. "You were saying, Rhys?" Amara asked, slight irritation in her voice.

"Right. Well, a few days ago he said he left saying that he was going with you guys to find himself or something and since I'm a totally cool boss I let him go. But now. . . I have no clue where he is and he's not answering his ECHO." All eyes were on Zane.

Zane recalled right before he was thrown off of the car, peering down through the gunner's seat door. A masked Timothy was looking up at him as shocked as ever.

"I think I might know where he is."

"Great! Then that only leaves one thing."

Moze raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"What are you doing with my ECHO Eye Implant?"

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have it?" Dread slowly began to creep into Rhys. "What do you mean you don't even know what I'm talking about?" Another gut wrenching answer. "No. No. Nothing important. Nothing at all. Anyway, call you guys back!" Rhys quickly hung up before the Vault Hunters could press any further.

He just gave up possibly the most dangerous thing he owns just because some retired Vault Hunter asked for it. Rhys was in deep shit.

What is he going to do? If he tells the Vault Hunters this his head will be on a pike. But if he doesn't _their_ heads will be on a pike. . . or worse, knowing what's on that implant.

Rhys began to pace. He has to warn them somehow, by not saying anything he'll be killing them. . . or digging a deeper grave for himself. He could always just have someone do it for him. But, that'd require someone knowing about the implant that won't murder or lose trust in him. Also he might be putting them in danger.

Rhys groaned. "I knew- I _knew_ keeping him was a bad idea. But, oh no, I had to keep him for whatever damn reason! I mean, it's only Handsome Jack, mass murderer and psychopath that tried to kill _me_." He plopped down onto his office chair with a great sigh. His eyes wandered over to the framed picture of Sasha.

Rhys leaned forward, taking the photo into his hand, laying his head on his desk in the process. "What would you think of me now?"

When Rhys managed to find Sasha after being stranded on Promethea she went off in search of her sister. Of course, they still kept in touch through video calls and such, but he hasn't actually seen her since.

She's coming to visit soon and right now Rhys is seriously wondering whether to have her come back at another time. He doesn't want to drag her into this mess and definitely doesn't want her to find out about the implant. Honestly, she might be safer that way.

"Yo, Rhys!" Rhys sat up rather quickly, placing Sasha's photo face down. He looked to his computer, finding that Vaughn was outside of the door. "You busy, bro? I got some things I want to go over."

Rhys pressed the button to the intercom. "Yeah, come on in, Vaughn."  The doors opened and out came

_Vaughn, Corporate Liiiiiiiife!!! (But Better This Time)_

"So our new pistol is a hit in sales which means we have some more cash to move around. I personally suggest you put a little bit more of our profits to fund the Raiders or maybe furthering Promethea's development, but it's all up to you, bro." Vaughn pulled back the page on his notebook as he approached Rhys's desk. "Though, we're going to need to get in touch with Tim about this paid vacation. He's been gone. . ." Vaughn trailed off, finally seeing the look on Rhys's face. "You look like crap."

"Gee thanks, Vaughn."

"No, I mean really. I haven't seen you like this since Maliwan tried to merge. . . . Wait, we're not going into another war, are we?" Vaughn asked anxiously.

"Honestly? Maybe."

Vaughn seemed. . . almost excited. "Well, I'm always up for a fight if it's with Atlas! Want me to send some money over to the war department and get Lorelei on the horn?"

"No!" Rhys blurted. "No. We can't do that."

Vaughn slowly raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Rhys bit the inside of his cheek, taking in his options. "Promise you won't freak out?"

Vaughn's expression turned to one of concern. "How bad is it?"

Rhys chewed on his lip for a moment. "Pretty bad."

"Like pretty bad or pretty-pretty bad?"

"Like pretty-pretty-pretty- _pretty_ bad."

Vaughn took in a sharp breath through his nose. "Rhys, I love you, bro, but I'm gonna freak out."

"That's fair." Rhys took in a deep breath, preparing himself to break it to Vaughn. "So. . . remember how I had Handsome Jack in my head?"

* * *

"No," Rose said firmly.

"What?" Tim asked.

"No, we are not going back. The jackass got me to launch my boyfriend off of the car and that all but cemented the idea of us betraying the Raiders. We can't be caught now especially with Handsome Jack in the backseat."

"So, what? Are we just going to keep running forever?"

"Do we have any other choice?"

Timothy groaned, covering his face as he slumped in his seat. "I knew this was a bad idea. I _knew_ this was going to bite me in the ass!"

Rose glanced to Timothy, frowning slightly. "Don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I should've known better."

"You know, this is great, loving this sweet little moment you're having with my fiancée, Timmy, but can we get back to the important issue here? Y'know, getting me out of your hair and maybe lessening the sentence those bandits will give you in the process?"

"How do we know you're not going to screw us over again?" Tim asked.

"Well, Tim, you're useless now. People know your name and they know that you're not me so once this is done consider your contract fulfilled."

"With pay?"

". . . I'll think about it."

"This man has well deserved his pay. If you want to make it out of this alive add an 'and extra'."

"Alright, alright. You've twisted my arm. You'll get your pay, Timmy."

"And extra," Rose added.

". . . And extra," Jack said reluctantly.

"What about me?"

"What? You want money too?"

"No. I want proof you're not scheming some sort of weird kidnapping plot at the end of this."

"Rosebud, I'm not going to force you to be with me. If you want to go around bangin' bandits, be my guest." Jack leaned back in his seat, smirking. "But, we both know you'll come crawling back to me. Just like the r-"  Rose hit the brake, throwing Jack forward. 

She smiled as he sat up, holding his nose. "Oops."

Jack glared at the blood on his fingers. "You broke my nose!"

"You weren't wearing a seatbelt," Rose stated happily. Jack sighed while he removed his mask.

"You'd think for a man that's died before he'd wear a seatbelt," Timothy commented.

"Right?"

"You guys are assholes."

"You know it, babe," Rose said mockingly as she drove off into the desert, the search party not far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And from this point on we'll be switching POVs!


	11. Southern Comfort

The bar was empty, the closers had gotten their fill and went off to their quarters, the chairs were up, and the door was closed. The barkeep by now would probably be downstairs, dressed in something a little bit more comfortable, and either counting her cash or helping her daughter with ship repairs. But, she's not.

_Moxxi, The Southern Comfort_

was behind her bar, drinking from her own stock. Recently, she had gotten a call from an ex-girlfriend of hers. One of the only ex's of Moxxi's that remained friendly even after the breakup. The conversation they shared didn't seem concerning at the time, but after the most recent call they had and the disappearance of the Vault Hunters. . . .

Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe things are okay. The Vault Hunters are always off on their own adventures and Rose had to make up for the time she wasted on that psychopath.

Her ECHO rang, she pressed the call button and continued to sip her drink. "You've reached Moxxi, what's your poison, sugar?"

"Hey, it's Zane."

"Zane? I thought you went off into the borderworlds."

"Yeah, 'bout that. I gotta talk to ya."

A sinking feeling settled in Moxxi's gut. "Shoot, sugar."

"Well, Rose as ya know has been on this long mission an'. . . well, to say the least, she's got caught up into this mess- she's still alive! But, we've lost contact with her."

"Is she okay?"

"Fit as ever it seems, she's just. . . missing right now. Me an' the crew are workin' to find her right now and I just thought you needed to know."

"Is-is there something I could do? I can call a few people, get some search parties going-

"No. No, we have to be discreet or. . . as discreet as we're physically able to."

"That bad, huh?"

Zane sounded like he chuckled a bit at that. "Total shitehole."

Moxxi smiled slightly. "When isn't it?" She took a sip.

Zane paused. "Damn, even an ol' timer like me can't answer that."

"Please, you've seen as many years as me. Maybe even less."

"Oh, don't flatter me."

Moxxi laughed and for a moment there was this content little silence the two shared. "Do you think she's going to be alright?"

"The lass survived Jack, how hard can this be?"

* * *

"Stay still!" Rose exclaimed.

"Sweetheart, I love you, but I don't think you understand what breaking your nose is like."

"I got my hand cut off, asshole." Jack opened his mouth, only to close it.

"Got me there."

"Then if you want to get through this shit, take my ounce of generosity before I change my mind."

"Awww, you care about me."

"Yes, I care about you. Exactly why I slammed on the break, hoping you'd just go out the window."

"Say whatever you like, you care about me." Rose glared at Jack before throwing the insta-cold packet at his face. "Ow!"

"Take care of yourself." She climbed up into the passenger seat beside Tim, buckling up.

Jack sighed, seemingly in defeat and all was quiet for a moment. "We're going to run out of gas soon," Tim informed.

"Let's find a Catch-a-Ride then," Rose reasoned. "This Outrunner is a little cramped anyway."

"And. . . what account are we using?" Tim asked anxiously.

"Moxxi hooked me up with an untraceable one back when people were opening the Great Vault."

Jack laughed. "And when did we start trusting balloon tits?"

Without saying anything, Rose pulled out her pistol and aimed right between Jack's eyes. "You talk about her like that again and I'll reconsider keeping you alive."

"Hey, could we not do the gun thing in the car-?" Tim said.

Jack only smiled. "Consider it now then, why don't you? Threats are nothing but words unless you carry them out, princess."

"You really do have quite a death wish for a man so obsessed with immortality."

"It spices things up." Slowly, Jack grabbed the barrel of Rose's pistol and held it against his forehead. "Stir the pot if you really want it, Rosebud."

"I really don't want to drive around with a corpse in the backseat-"

"Let her do it, kiddo. If she _is_ going to do it."

"No! I'm not going to let her kill someone in this car unless it's necessary! Rose, please, just wait until we stop."

"No one waits to kill, they just do. Are you gonna kill me, cupcake? Huh?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Timothy exclaimed.

"You two could've killed me when I emerged, but you didn't. Rose had her hands around my neck, but here I am, still alive."

"Rose, I am begging you, do not kill him right now."

"Do it. If you really mean it."

Rose rolled her eyes, withdrawing her weapon. "Thank you," Timothy said, relieved.

"Now was that so hard?"

"Yes," Rose and timothy said in unison.

* * *

Vaughn took in a deep breath. "Rhys. Bro. Bro-bro. Broski. Broseph. CE-Bro. Brosketti and meatbro. Brokowski-"

"Vaughn."

"I'm doing it again aren't I?"

"Yeah," Rhys said, slightly exasperated.

Vaughn sighed. "Sorry, I get into my bro-cabulary when I'm nervous. I was going to say: this is the stupidest thing you've ever done."

"Not even me implan-"

"Not even you implanting Handsome Jack into your brain was this bad. _Because you didn't_ ** _know_** _._ There was nothing you could do to prevent it."

Rhys opened his mouth to argue only to close it upon thinking about the situation. "Yeah, I still would've done it. But what are we going to do?"

"We have to tell the Vault Hunters we can't just let them. . . do whatever it is they do while Handsome Jack is on the loose."

"See, that was my first thought too, but here's the deal with that."

Vaughn raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"They're going to _kill me._ "

Vaughn paused before waving a dismissive hand. "Pshhhh, nah."

"Pshhhh, yeah! I was on thin ice about hiding the Vault Key, do you know what they'll do when they find out I kept a Handsome Jack AI and then lost it?!"

". . . What if we find the AI before the Raiders find out?"

"How?"

"Well, you gave it to Rose, right? I bet I can call her up and pull some strings."

"And how are you so sure she's not even off the grid by now?"

"I'm not, but options are slim." Vaughn pulled out his ECHO and dialed up Rose's number. The two corporates waited in anticipation as the line rang. Eventually, someone picked up. "Hey, Rose! It's me, Vaughn, your best bandit bro. Anyway, I heard you may or may not have picked up an itty bitty ECHO eye implant from my buddy Rhys and we were just wondering if we could have it back?" Vaughn glanced up at Rhys who looked just as nervous as he did.

"Why'd you need it if it's nothing important?" The voice of Moze asked.

Vaughn's eyes went wide. "Uh-" Rhys reached over and hung up the call. "Rhys!" Vaughn put down his ECHO to cover his face with his hands. "Ohhh, this is bad."

"It's okay."

"How is it okay?"

"I. . . don't really know. I thought if I'd just say it's okay it'll be okay."

Vaughn sighed, removing his hands from his face. "Alright, alright, maybe you're right. About the being okay part, not just saying it's okay - seriously, dude, we gotta talk about that after we deal with this." Rhys adverted his eyes. "The Vault Hunters are even more suspicious of us but that just means we gotta be more careful going forward."

"Right."

"So, all we gotta do is track Rose down and ask her about the AI on the down low."

"Right. . . and how do we do that?"

"Well, we can just track down the call we just made and set to work."

"And. . . you sure you still want to help me even though-" Vaughn stood up, placing an assuring hand on Rhys's shoulder.

"Bro, you may be the stupidest dude I've ever met, but you're my bro and nothing's going to change that."

Rhys smiled. "Thanks, bro."

* * *

"Moxxi, I'll call you back, yeah?" Zane said.

"Don't keep me waiting," she said almost warningly before hanging up. Zane jogged up to his group, now surrounding an ECHO. "What's happenin'?"

"We found your girlfriend's ECHO, she- excuse me, whoever was with Rose must've tossed it," Moze informed.

Zane's eyes narrowed. "I don't like what you're insinuatin'."

"Doesn't exactly matter since that's not the point," Amara stated firmly. "Vaughn called."

"Vaughn! Hadn't heard from 'im in a spell. How's he?"

"He spoke of the implant Rhys had mentioned earlier," FL4K said as the Skags fed from their hands. "Other than that he seemed fine."

"We were wondering if you knew anything about it?" Amara asked.

"Eh. . ." Zane went through his memory about any implant. "I remember Rose had said somethin' 'bout gettin' somethin' from Rhys but she never said what."

"Do you think it could be the implant?" Amara asked.

"Might be. Might not be. Either way, worth investigatin' in my book. Rhys doesn't get that wound up for nothin'. . . usually."

Amara opened her mouth to speak when Moze interrupted. "Woah!"

"What?" The group asked in unity.

Moze turned the ECHO's screen out for display, showing a drastically different account.

Zane's brow furrowed. "How in the bloody hell. . ."

"Seems Rose is hiding a lot more than we previously thought," FL4K said almost casually.

Zane shook his head. "Listen, I'm sure that there's a completely valid explanation for all o' this. We just gotta find the lass first."

"Sure, I'd love to hear Handsome Jack's fiancee explain how it's a complete coincidence she got her hands on a Handsome Jack AI, fled to Pandora with his doppelganger, logged into Jack's ECHOnet, and threw her supposed boyfriend off of a car when we were trying to rescue her." Moze sneered.

Zane glared. "You are steppin' on dangerous territory, Moze. Ya sure ya wanna test yer luck?"

"It's three against one. I think my odds are pretty good."

"Alright! That's enough," Amara spoke. "FL4K, get Meat-Thief to work."

"A please would be nice," they said as they knelt down, allowing the Jabber to hop off of their back.

"Zane, you follow FL4K, I'm going to have a talk with Moze."

Moze raised an eyebrow. "Like a 'talk'-talk or-"

"A talk," Amara answered firmly.

Moze sighed. "That's what I was afraid you were going to say."


	12. Busy Earnin'

"Oh, looks like the little guy is all tuckered out," Jack mockingly cooed. Rose glanced over and sure enough, Timothy was finally asleep.

"I see that. Why aren't you?"

"You know me, babe, I don't tire easily." Jack chuckled.

"I would think resurrection would tire anyone out." Rose cringed upon seeing Jack wink in the rearview mirror.

"But I'm not like anyone else, ain't that right, pumpkin?"

"No. Thank god for that."

There was an unnerving silence in the car for a long moment. "What happened to your hand?"

"What?"

"Overheard you and Timmy's conversation the night before the surgery." Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "He said you two gave up your hands."

Rose pressed her lips together, trying to ignore Jack's hot breath tickling the back of her neck. "Giving up is not the term I would use," she said simply, her throat feeling tight.

"What then? Chopping off? Slicing? Dicing?" He leaned into her ear. "Lying to your fiancé?"

Rose took in a deep breath. "Do you really want to know?"

"Think I've waited long enough to know how my fiancée died."

"Get your face out of my neck and I'll tell you."

"Thought you liked it when I did this." Jack's lips grazed over a bundle of nerves, causing an involuntary shiver. Rose took a hand off the wheel to push his face back, making sure to hit his nose. "Oh! Okay, okay! Easy on the merchandise."

"You remember the week before I went missing you took me to the Jackpot for its grand opening?"

"Well, uh, I remember the honeymoon suite and all of the _amazing_ sex we had in there-"

"And I remember the night you proposed to me as I looked over a sea of your carnage."

"Wouldn't call it _carnage_ just a couple of poors thinking they could bum their way through my casino without being taught a lesson."

"You were murdering them, Jack and the ones you didn't kill you tortured. You hid everything from me, Jack. The worst things you did I never found out about until I met the Raiders."

"Rosebud, they're nothing but a bunch of lying bandits. Are you saying you actually believed them over me?"

"After the casino? Yeah, I believed everything."

Jack looked to Rose with something between amusement and disappointment. "So then what? What happened after seeing all of my 'carnage' and still agreeing to marry me?"

"I was terrified. I didn't know how you'd react to me seeing you as the monster you are since I couldn't keep the happy little fiancée act up for long. So, rather than risk it, while you were distracted, I escaped through the vent in the bathroom and grabbed an escape pod, heading to the one place no one in that casino would dare to step foot."

"Pandora."

"I went into hiding for a while, but with everyone out to find Handsome Jack's fiancée or her 'kidnappers', I had to think of something to get you off my trail." Rose scratched the palm of her prosthetic.

"You cut off your hand."

"Specifically the one with the custom ring. I gave it to some bandit, telling them they can keep the reward for my bounty if they said they found my body. I never had to worry about witnesses. I knew you'd kill them once they phoned in."

"And you've been hiding ever since."

"Yes."

"All of this just to get away from me."

"If I gave myself up what would you have done? If I went back to you telling you everything I did just now would you welcome me in open arms? Act as if nothing happened?" Rose looked up at the rearview mirror, locking eyes with the man in the backseat. "Or would you wrap your hands around my throat and squeeze the air out of me?"

Jack glared up at the mirror. "You think I'd hurt you?'

Rose's eyes flickered back to the road. "I think you'd try." Silence settled back over the couple.

"Why am I still alive then? Really. 'Cause you can just pull over and put one right between my eyes right now and we both know it."

Rose sighed. "I know that Tim's worked too hard to get where he is and he's scared of losing it all if he tries to kill you, but me?" She looked up at the mirror, looking at Jack's scarred face. "It's taking me everything I have to not choke the shit out of you and I don't know why. Don't think the Raiders would be too pissed if I showed up with your body and some story on how you kidnapped me. . . . But, maybe that's it. Maybe I'm just tired of covering everything up. This makes me look at who I am, who I was, and accept it."

"And who are you?"

"Not your fiancée. That's for damn sure."

* * *

"We're losing her scent," FL4K informed as Meat-Thief sniffed about the desert floor. The Skags following the lead despite not having as keen of tracking.

"We got anythin' o' Timothy's?" Zane asked.

"Negative. I had his hand, but didn't want it so I gave it to my beasts."

"Gross," Moze commented.

"My beasts need sustenance, same as you," they explained simply.

"Was there anyone else in that car you could see, Zane?" Amara asked.

"Nah, I could only see Tim from where I was standin'."

Amara sighed. "We might have to call for backup."

Zane turned around, coming to a complete stop. "Uh-uh we agreed-"

"I am fully aware of what we agreed on, Zane, but what else can we do at this point? Speculate?"

"Best option in my opinion."

"The Raiders will find out eventually what we're doing," FL4K informed. "All that is dark comes to the light."

"And I'm tryin' to keep me girlfriend outta the light for as long as I can. D'ya know what'll happen to 'er if this gets out?"

"She should've known when she picked up that gun and didn't tell us about it-" Moze began.

"And you're tellin' me honestly that you would have completely and fully trusted her when she told you she just happened upon this gun?" There was a pause among the group. 

Moze spoke up. "Would've been for good reason."

"Moze," Amara said warningly.

"No! His girlfriend left with this gun, Jack's doppelganger, and Rhys' implant to supposedly 'kill him once and for all' without us and the moment she saw us she turned tail, ran. She got rid of her ECHO that somehow had Jack's old account opened up instead of her own. I mean, don't listen to the crazy old soldier here, but it seems to me that she's hiding something from us." She locked eyes with Zane. "All of us."

Amara placed a hand on Moze's shoulder. "We'll figure that out once we get there. For now, we must put feelings aside and simply focus on the mission. We'll deal with Rose once we figure out what's going on."

Moze pulled her shoulder away from the Siren. "We know what's going on, Amara! She's trying to bring him back!" The group went dead silent.

"Excuse me?" Zane said.

Moze turned to Zane. "You heard me."

"Moze-" Amara spoke.

"The last thing she'd want is to have that bastard back."

"Ohohoho, is that what you really think? Why else keep the gun and never tell you her plans?"

"Moze!"

"Why else get Rhys's high tech program?"

"Moze, that's enough-"

"Why else login to his old account other than to get his old plans? Why else get someone that looks and talks exactly like him other than use him as a vessel?"

"Moze, we don't have time-"

"Face it. She'd leave you in a heartbeat if he was back." Zane reared his fist back to swing, but Amara was faster. In a mere moment, Zane was on his back.

"Oh, great. Captain's back on board," he muttered before slipping away into unconsciousness. Moze was beaming up at her girlfriend until she realized Amara wasn't smiling back.

"Go find a Catch-A-Ride. Don't come back unless you’re in a Technical," Amara ordered coldly.

Moze frowned. "Amara-"

"Now!" Moze's expression slowly hardened. She stormed off, hopefully toward the nearest Catch-A-Ride. Amara watched sadly as her girlfriend grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

"You did the rational thing," FL4K assured.

"I know." The Siren squatted down and placed Zane on to her shoulder, lifting him up with ease. "I should've made him stay behind."

"Wouldn't make much of a difference. He would've come anyway. You would if it were Moze."

Amara nodded. "Yeah, I would." Broodless cooed causing FL4K to reach into their pockets for her toy.

Broodless screeched happily as FL4K found the rubber ball. "Don't drop this," they warned as they placed the ball into the Spiderant's mouth. "Do you believe Moze?"

"I think it's a stretch. She's mostly just angry about being lied to and she's trying to find anyway possible to get us in an uproar. But. . . that doesn't exactly mean I trust Rose. What about you?"

"I think we don't have enough information to come to a conclusion. However, the evidence we have is damning." Meat-Thief whooped wildly, alerting the Vault Hunters. The Skags barked along. The Beastmaster turned to the Siren. "I think we may have found her scent."

* * *

"And that's why I'm leaving for a few days," Rhys concluded.

"Alright," Lorelai said casually.

Rhys raised an eyebrow. “Really? That-that’s it? You’re not going to tell me how you need me in charge or. . . ?”

“You’re the CEO, Rhys, you can do what you want. Besides, it’s not like we’re in another war.” Lorelei laughed to which Rhys attempted to match with his nervous chuckling. “Right?”

“What? Oh, yeah, yeah. No war to be had, everything’s good. I’ll see ya Lorelei!”

“Wait, but I wanted to talk about my paycheck-” Rhys hung up and let out a great sigh.

He looked to Vaughn. "I think. . . we might actually get away with this."

“Yeah. . . just remember to relax a little, bro, you’re just looking a _little_ suspicious with all of the water that’s leaving your body. Seriously, do you want some water?”

"I'm fine."

“Say no more, swinging by the fridge.” Vaughn walked over to Rhys’s mini fridge.

"I said I'm fine, Vaughn."

“Yeah and you also said you were fine when you left your binder on for twenty-four hours.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. "That was one time."

"One time too many." Vaughn stood up, handing Rhys a bottle of water. “Drink.” Reluctantly, Rhys took the bottle from Vaughn and took a sip.

"Thanks," Rhys said quietly.

“It’s what bro’s do.” Vaughn sat back down. “So, what now?”

“What do you mean? We’re going down to Pandora to get my implant before the Vault Hunters do.”

“Well, yeah, but by now you usually break down the plan in a super cool way and _then_ we do it.”

"Am I. . . really that predictable?"

"No. Well, yeah, but I always liked that part of the plan."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it makes it fun."

A small smile grew on Rhys’s lips. “Alright, well, first thing’s first we sneak over to the cargo ships.”

“But. . . you’re the CEO of this company? We don’t have to sneak around anymore.”

“Oh, yeah. Then, scratch that. We confidently stride over to my company issued ship with it’s very own cargo dropper.”

"I'm still telling you that Hyperion is going to sue us for that."

“It’s not a moon shot. We’re not shooting cargo down from anywhere near the moon, the ship wouldn’t be able to take it. Which is why we’re _dropping_ the cargo once we get close enough to Pandora."

Vaughn chuckled. "Alright."

“Then, we’ll use my indoor digistruct to construct my car-”

A grin began to form on Vaughn’s face. “Wait, we’re not-”

“Really moon shot-ting to Pandora in a CEO’s car again?!” Vaughn asked again excitedly as he buckled up.

“Cargo dropping,” Rhys corrected. “And we totally are.” Rhys started the ignition.

Vaughn smiled widely. "Bro, I love you."

“I love you too, bro. Get ready!” The doors sealed off, the vessel beginning to shift. Don’t try this at home, kids of the future.

The two Atlas idiots waited in anticipation as the AI over the speakers counted down their descent. In a moment’s notice the cargo shuttle came hurtling down to the desert planet at a great speed. The pieces of the shuttle falling away as the tires landed and the boys were off, completely unaware of the late coming search party watching as they sped off.

“Was that a moonshot?”

_Mordecai, proud mother of one._

_Talon, also proud mother of one_

landed on his shoulder.

“I don’t see no space station.”

_Brick, one proud papa._

“Don’t worry, Bricktown, your eyesight may not be what it used to be, but that’s why I got this badass bazooka with a kickass scope!”

_Tina, should not be in charge of a rocket launcher_

aimed wildly up at the sky, searching for any sort of threat.

“Put your gun down, Tina, your rocket launcher doesn’t have the range for anything that moon shot down.”

“Says you, Mordy!” Tina fired before either Brick or Mordecai could stop her, the bullet scorching the sky before it got far enough into the atmosphere to explode. “You see that?!”

“Yeah, and just about everyone else, nino.”

Brick shrugged. "I thought it was cool."

Mordecai sighed. “Moxxi’s gonna regret hiring us.”


	13. Shining Opportunity

Rose looked up at the rearview, seeing that Jack had finally gotten to sleep just as the sun rose no less. He never did have a great sleep schedule what with being Mr. Hyperion all day everyday, but that meant that when he did get to sleep, he was out cold. Rose was almost jealous. But, then again, when you’re someone like Handsome Jack and you sleep like a baby that’s not exactly a good sign.

Timothy stirred. “Where. . .” he peered over his shoulder at Jack who was snoring lightly, “oh, right.” He sat up slightly, hurriedly wiping away the drool from his chin. “How long was I out?”

"Few hours. You got a good amount of sleep."

He gave a light sigh. “M’sorry for leaving you with that asshole.”

"I dated him, Tim. Believe me, I can handle him."

"Nice to have breaks, though."

“Yeah, yeah it is.” There was a lovely little silence held between the two as Timothy watched the sun rise over the horizon.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

“No and before you start begging me for the wheel I can guarantee you I won’t be able to get to sleep.” Timothy opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat him to it. “And no, I’m not trying. As long as he’s within arms reach of me, I’m not sleeping.”

"I'll cut his hand off before he touches you."

"I trust you, Timothy. Really, I do. But I still won't feel safe."

"Alright, but when you start getting tired tell me. I'll strap him to the hood of the car if that's what it takes."

Rose smiled slightly. "I appreciate that." But she won’t accept it, her nightmares are but a step away from reality and she’d rather not think about that.

Timothy pulled out his ECHO and got to work on searching for Jack’s cleanup crew. Rose glanced over. “You sure they’re not able to track us with that?”

“Atlas’s finest. And also the only ECHO we have left.” Timothy began typing up some guesses. “Did Jack ever talk about anything like this cleanup crew? Or used some weird codename that just stuck out to you?”

“I don’t know honestly. There’s about a million things he could’ve used.”

“Well, I’ll just stick with the classics then and hope for something. Let me know if you think of anything.”

“Will do.” Rose drove on, her mind beginning to wander. It started off as a simple train of thought as all do, but sooner or later they get off the track. She had first thought of Zane, if he was alright, what he thinks of her now, what will happen to their relationship after this. Soon that led to their relationship then relationships. The rather terrifying and conflicting one she had with Nisha. Then Moxxi, how things could’ve been different if she had gone for that drink. And last, but sure as hell not least, Jack.

All of those red flags she had somehow been blind to, the excuses, the lies, and bribes framed as pillow talk. The sweetest memories now are the bases of all of her nightmares. Lying on her side, entangled in sheets while he whispered in her ear.

_“I’ll always protect you, Rosie.” Toxic kisses seeping into her skin. “I’ll do whatever I have to. I’ll put pesticide sellers out of business if that’ll protect my prize Rose.”_

"Pesticide," she muttered.

"What?"

She waved a dismissive hand. “Something dumb Jack said to me. He’d put pesticide sellers out of business if that’ll protect me.”

“Well, I doubt he’d have something that’s actually sentimental at least in his sense, but- you got to be fucking kidding me.”

Rose looked over, eyes wide. "It is not fucking pesticide."

“I am staring at it and I can’t believe it.” Rose stared up at the rearview and she honestly considered stopping and chucking Jack out. But, she’s dug her grave already.

Rose sighed heavily. “Jack. Jack. Jackass!” The man in the back snorted awake. “We found your stupid cleanup crew. Call them up and pray they’re still business.”

Still groggy, Jack took the ECHO from Timothy. “Rosebud, I’m a legend, I don’t pray to anything.”

"You will if this was all for nothing."

“Uh-huh.” Jack drew his attention to Timothy’s ECHO and he narrowed his eyes. “Pesticide? I would’ve never guessed that.”

“No kidding,” Timothy murmured. Jack called the contact and the ECHO began to ring. After a long moment, someone picked up.

“Hello?” the voice sounded like a young man, obviously nervous upon seeing Jack’s contact.

“Hey there, kiddo, Handsome Jack here, gonna have to ask a favor of you and if blab about it I’m gonna have to find you and gut you like a fish, ‘kay, pumpkin?”

"Is-is this some kinda prank?"

“No. But, gotta say, your reaction is priceless. Though, I’m not paying you to be pathetic, am I?”

"Your-you're dead!"

“And so will you be if you don’t shut up. You like eternal darkness, kiddo? Yeah, me neither. I need you to erase any documents you can find on Timothy Lawrence and Rose Thorne being involved with me. I’ll be checking up with you, if it’s not done by the time Pandora’s sun sets it’s your ass. Kisses!” Jack hung up.

“Are you sure that was the smartest way to handle that?” Rose asked.

“Trust me, sweetheart, I’m a professional. Everything will be sorted by tonight or we have to kill a man. More than likely the ladder, but hey, I’m hopeful.”

"Well, isn't that great?" Timothy asked sarcastically.

"Hey, buck up, kiddos, we're almost done here!" 

“That’s what you said before you came back from the dead,” Rose pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but I couldn’t tell you two that was the plan. Wouldn’t have helped me, would you?” The two didn’t answer. “Didn’t think so.” Jack leaned forward, draping his arms around Tim and Rose’s shoulders. “Smile, kids, Pandora’s underway!”

* * *

“So some floozy’s got you all worked up, huh?”

 _Captain Flynt, Forever Blazin’ in Glory_.

"She ain't a floozy, she's me girlfriend."

“Oh yes, your girlfriend that ran off with a man that has the exact same face of her ex without telling you, seems very faithful.”

_Baron Flynt, Barin’ No Longer._

"Hey, if anyone's a floozy here, it's me."

“Yeah, I stopped sending people to assassinate your spouse by the fifth one,” Captain admitted.

"What're you up to now?" Baron asked.

"Wish I could tell ya, Baron."

“That’s not exactly a good sign when someone is all for someone who can’t even count all of their marriages,” Baron said.

“You probably just reminded her of Jack and that held her over for a while ‘til she found the literal Jackpot.”

“What’d you two know? You never settled and Baron never dated.”

“We’re your brothers, can’t that be enough?” Captain said.

“I think I’d rather get relationship advice from someone that hates me girlfriend’s guts but has actually been with a woman long term.”

“So. . . the exact same advice we’re giving you now?” Baron asked, causing Captain to snicker.

Zane sighed. "Aren't dreams s'posed to be fun? What am I doin' here with you two?"

“Hell if we know. I’m just glad to be out of the big old plane of nothingness,” Baron said.

"Eh, look at him, we got a few more seconds at most," Captain commented.

"Please, I can sleep for as long as I-"

* * *

Zane awoke with a snort. He was looking out of window of a Technical as it pass through the deserts of Pandora. Dazed still, he looked to the front see Moze at the wheel and Amara in the passenger seat. FL4K was outside with their pack while Meat-Thief tracked.

Moze looked up at the rearview. "Welcome back," she greeted none too warmly.

"Where are we?" Zane asked.

“Still in the Dust, it looks like we’re approaching Opportunity, but we can’t say anything about that just yet,” Amara informed, an edge to her voice. It seemed obvious that Moze was hellbent about Rose heading to opportunity.

"Any sign o' her?"

"None yet," Moze said.

There was a tense silence. “Is this the part where one of us coughs up a heartfelt apology?” Zane questioned.

“If you’re asking me to say sorry, I’m not. I stand where I stand and until I’m proven otherwise, I don’t plan on moving.”

"Same here."

"Glad we're in agreement."

Amara sighed, tired when suddenly, a nice looking car came speeding by. "What was that?"

Zane squinted. "Looks like-"

* * *

"The Vault Hunters," Vaughn said worriedly.

“It. . . might’ve been a couple of bandits.”

“You sure?” Wordlessly, Rhys slowly pressed down onto the gas pedal.

“What are the odds we actually caught up to them?”

“I mean we drove all night so I’d say pretty good.”

Rhys bit the inside of his lip. “Well, if that’s the case, which I’m sure it isn’t, what do we do now?”

"You didn't plan this far ahead?"

"Vaughn, do I ever plan this far ahead?"

"Fair point. Uh. . . Rose was last seen with Tim, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"And Tim's still using that ECHO we gave him?"

"He should be."

“Well, this is a stretch, but if Tim is still with Rose, this should kill two birds with one stone.” Vaughn pulled out his own ECHO and began searching the location of their employees’ ECHOs. “He’s in the Dust!”

Rhys sighed. “I should’ve known he wasn’t with the Vault Hunters.”

“He’s heading to Opportunity we should be able to reach him if we hurry.”

“We’re coming, Tim!” Rhys put the pedal to the metal, breezing across the desert floor, his heart pounding, satisfaction beginning to seep in. . . when his console began to ring. Someone was calling him.

Vaughn grimaced. "It's Sasha."

“Oh, shit.” He forgot she was visiting. “Put her on.”

"You sure, bro?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay." Vaughn pressed call. "Hey, Sasha!"

“Hey, Vaughn,” Sasha greeted. She was smiling, but hesitance was still in her voice. “Is Rhys there?”

"Hey, Sash, how's it going?"

“Well, I’m at the entrance to your office with some souvenirs and this guard here is saying that you’re out.”

“Yeah, well, I am. My intern kinda. . . disappeared suddenly with some special equipment and me and Vaughn are going to get them.”

"And. . . where are you?"

“Uh. . .” Saying that he was on Pandora is not going to ease any of her anxieties, but neither was lying to her. “Good question, Vaughn, where are we?” Vaughn threw up his hands as a sort of a silent “why me?”.

“Vaughn, I know you two have your own thing, but if this is something serious you have to tell me the truth.” Rhys silently begged Vaughn to think of something to tell her while Vaughn argued with Rhys through mouthing and sweeping hand gestures. Eventually, Vaughn came to a conclusion.

He took in a deep breath through his nose. "We're on-"

“Vaughn, is it me or is that a Jabber running toward our car?” Rhys said in a slightly panicked voice.

"Jabber? Are you on Eden-6?"

Vaughn peeked behind them, seeing not only a Jabber racing after them, but the Technical from before. “Uh, Sasha, you know what? Rhys and I are gonna have to call you back just uh, go stay out at his apartment until we do, okay?”

"Wait, no, Rhys, what's going on?!"

“Bye, Sasha! Love you!” Rhys hung up and suddenly the barreling Technical seemed to be very small compared to what he has to go home to.

"Well, that could've gone worse?"

"Yeah, don't speak too soon." A loud honk caused Rhys to tense.

“Rhys!” shouted FL4K. “My associates and I wish to talk to you! It’d be easier to do so if you pulled over!”

"What do I do? What do I do?!"

"Well, we can't stop now, we might lose Tim!"

Rhys groaned. "Vaughn."

"Yeah?"

“Next time I have a psychopathic murderer in my head and I don’t get rid of it, I _welcome_ you to hit me,” Rhys said as he increased speed.

* * *

“I’m tellin’ ya, FL4K’s not gettin’ through to ‘im. Not their fault, but they just don’t have me Irish charm.”

“Zane-” before Amara could say anything more, Zane was sticking his head out the window.

“OY, RHYS! PULL OVER! WE WANNA TALK TO YA!” Rhys only sped up. Zane stuck his head back in.

“What was that about Irish charm?” Moze asked teasingly.

“Shut up, but don’t ‘cause we need some strategies.”

“I have one,” Amara said simply before a giant, blue arm raised from the ground. . . only to completely miss the car. “Hold on.” One by one, blue arms emerged from the dust, attempting to grab the car, but Rhys had obviously caught on. “Why isn’t this working?”

“The lad has an ECHO eye, he can probably predict where you’re about to pop up."

“Shit!” Amara tapped into her comm link. “FL4K, get as many animals as you can on the car, see if you can slow them down.”

“On it.” FL4K directed the beasts toward the cars while the cast-legged Skags stayed with FL4K.

“Why is Rhys runnin’ from us?” Zane asked.

“Must be something on that implant he doesn’t want us to see,” Moze concluded and for once, Zane had to agree.

Just as Meat-Thief grabbed hold of the rear bumper the sound of a gunshot echoed through the Dust while the vehicle slowed. Someone shot Rhys’s tires.

“What in the fuck. . . ?” Zane asked before the second shot fired. The Operative looked over, seeing that up on a cliff’s edge was a sniper. “Get down!”

"Why?" Moze asked.

“Sniper!” The three ducked while FL4K collected their beasts, hurrying to cover.

“Ayo, amigos! It’s just us,” a familiar voice came from the comm link.

Amara furrowed her eyebrows. "Mordecai?"

"And Brick."

"And Tina!"

"Why are all of you here?" Amara asked.

“Moxxi paid us to come find you and help you with rescuing Rose.”

“Ah, shite, really should’ve kept my mouth shut, huh? Uh, I don’t wanna be that guy, but you guys have to head back.”

"Aww, but we just got here!" Tina whined.

“I know, I know, but we’re alone on this mission for a reason,” Zane explained. “Just tell Moxxi we’re alright and get your reward, we’ll handle this.”

“Yeah, no, Moxxi wants us to bring you back up to Sanctuary so. . .” Brick began.

"So we on yo ass like bees on honey, shawty," Tina finished.

“That’s. . . one way to phrase it, but yeah. We don’t come back with you, we don’t get a reward," Mordecai summarized.

Zane, Amara, and Moze gave each other apprehensive looks before Zane spoke. “Fine. Ye can tag along, but no questions, got it?”

“. . . Okay?” Mordecai said.

“And if you could also blow out the tires on that car that’s getting away, that’d be good,” Moze added.

"Got it. Tina, blow out their tires."

"On it, Mordy-mom!" With two loud blasts, Rhys was immobilized.

* * *

"Rhys? Rhys? What's the plan here?"

“I keep my head right here and pray that if I can’t see them, they can’t see me.”

“Pretty sure that’s not how this works, bro.” A soft knock came upon Rhys’s window. Fearfully, he turned his head, seeing a grinning Zane with a black eye.

“ ‘Ey, boyo. Got somethin’ for us?”

“You’re not gonna. . . punch me if I step out, right?”

“Lad, I think you are woefully misreadin’ this situation.”

“Really? Because to me it seems I was on the hunt for this mysterious implant that you no doubt know what was on it.”

“Actually, we don’t, came to talk to ya ‘bout it.”

Rhys’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Pretty sure me girlfriend still has it along with your intern. If you could give us any info ‘bout it it’d really help us.”

Rhys’s mouth had gone dry, he smiled nervously. “Yeah. . . just uh. . . promise you won’t be mad?”

Zane raised an eyebrow. "How bad is it?"

* * *

"How's Opportunity since I left?" Jack asked as Rose steadily approached the shining city.

"Never cared to check," she answered.

"Dido," Timothy said.

“Great. Wonderful. Illuminating. Love the dry responses I’m getting from you two they’re just absolutely riveting every single time.”

“We’re almost done with you, why would we waste more oxygen than we have to?” Rose asked.

"Really digging into me lately, Rosebud. It hurts me, truly."

"Good."

Timothy pulled his eyebrows together slightly as he watched the side view mirror. “Uh, guys?”

“Y’know, I’m sorry that I killed a few people in front of you and that made you feel like you had to run all the way to batshit Pandora where you cut your hand off.”

"Guys-" Tim began before Rose cut in.

“You know you are not making a better case for yourself here, right?”

"People die, sweetheart."

"Guys," Timothy repeated more firmly this time.

"They could have lived long lives, Jack."

“And they could’ve lived short ones. . . which they did. Well, a few of them. I let Tassiter run around for a little longer than I’d like, but oh, when I wrapped my hands around his throat-”

“Hey! Could we put aside our bullshit for one friggin’ minute?!” Timothy’s sudden outburst caused Jack and Rose to give pause. “There’s a Technical coming right for us.”

Rose adjusted her side mirror. “Shit, hang on.” She slammed on the breaks, racing toward the border of the Dust that will lead them to opportunity. “You two should know the drill, duck down and don’t come back up until I say we’re safe.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jack bit back sarcastically as he sank down.

"Timothy, you got the gun?"

A soft click of him locking it notified Rose he had his hands on it. “Got it.”

The Technical was gaining on them, but they were so close to Opportunity. They couldn’t. . . Rose’s stomach dropped as the Outrunner began to slow.

"No. No, no, no, no, shit! Goddamnit!"

"What's happening?" asked Timothy anxiously.

“We’re out of fucking gas!” Jack cackled as the Outrunner came to a stop. “We’re fucked why in the hell are you laughing?!”

“How could I not? We’re gonna die because you forgot to fill up the car!”

Rose glanced up at the side mirror and made a quick decision. “We still have a bit of a lead on them. Come on, we’re running.” She opened the door, climbing out of the car, her legs instantly protested. Of course, that’s what you get for not going out to stretch every once and a while.

"You can't be serious," said Tim.

“I am dead fucking serious. Both of you, get out of the car now!” Timothy didn’t have much time to argue.

“Fuck,” he breathed before climbing out of the passenger seat, Rose’s pistol in hand. Rose reached up, opening Jack’s door and dragging him out while he was reattaching his mask.

"Easy, easy!"

“Come on!” Rose broke into a sprint, despite her legs telling her otherwise, Timothy and Jack alongside her. The gates to Opportunity were just ahead of them, but Rose knew better. There’s no outrunning a car. But she’ll be damned if she didn’t try.

"We're not gonna make it!" Timothy yelled.

“Quit looking back!” Rose ordered. The revving of the engine could be heard, right on the trio’s tails. 

Jack chuckled. “I still can’t believe you doomed us because you didn’t put gas in the tank.”

Rose groaned. “If you don’t die when we drop you off, I’m gonna kill you just like you did Tassiter.”

"I look forward to it."

The Technical came to a stop and Rose knew it was the end of the line, still she kept running. “Rose! Rose! ROSE, STOP!” She froze upon hearing Zane’s voice. And so did the look alikes.

"Timothy, go, run," Rose whispered.

"Not without you."

"If the Raiders find out you helped me and weren't just roped in-"

"We did this together. We go down together," Timothy concluded.

Jack laughed. "You're an idiot."

Rose glared. "I don't see those legs moving either, jackass."

"Love, we ain't mad," Zane spoke.

"That's exactly what someone who's pissed would say," Jack murmured in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up."

"We're just here to bring you back and talk things through," Zane continued.

"That's bandit for drag you to the car and put a bullet in your brain," whispered Jack.

"Quiet."

"If you could just. . . turn around," Zane said pleadingly.

“We’re a sprint away from the entrance and I have the passcode," Jack reminded.

“I promise, I won’t let any o’ ‘em hurt ya.”

“There’s turrets at the front that’ll blast ‘em away if they try to follow.”

"We just want you safe."

“You really going to quit now after working so hard to get here? C’mon, Rosebud, I know you’re better than that.”

“Rose, I don’t care what you choose, I’ll go with it even if it does suck, but I’d like it if you’d make a decision,” Timothy said.

Rose scratched the palm of her hand, the itching never subsiding. “C’mon, cupcake, we’ve come this far.” She sighed, finally making her decision.

You two stay here, don’t move. I fucking mean it.” Jack groaned, but luckily, didn’t move. She turned around, seeing Zane just across the way, bruised and worn out, but ecstatic to see her again. She smiled weakly before walking over to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. 

A chuckle erupted in Zane’s chest. “Hi, lass.”

She grinned, tears brimming in her eyes. "Hi." She pulled away after a moment, looking at his black eye. "What happened?"

"Ah, got into a tussle. Nothin' I can't handle."

"You sure it. . . didn't have anything to do with me launching you off of a car?"

"Nah. I was up an' 'bout 'fore the morrow." Rose smiled sadly before pulling Zane back into the hug.

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Everything."

"Don't be, lass. It all turned up okay, right?" Rose frowned. "Right?" She departed from the hug, hurriedly wiping away her tears at the sight of the Vault Hunters and the Atlas corps.

"I need you. . . to do me a favor."

"Alright. . . ?"

“Settle down the Vault Hunters, try to get them to calm down. I have something. . . unpleasant with me and if I was on their bad side before I could only imagine what’ll happen now.” Zane opened his mouth before Rose cut him off. "No questions. You just gotta go with it, okay?"

"Okay, okay, lass, I got it. Just. . ." Zane took her hand into his, "don't run away this time."

Rose nodded. "I'll try not to." She got up onto her toes and gave Zane a brief kiss and ran off for Jack. "Hoods up, heads down."

“What’s the point? They’re gonna find out it’s me anyway.”

“I’d rather break it to them gently and hopefully not get shot in the process. What about you, Timothy? You think Jack should rush in, shouting his own name at the top of lungs like the total arrogant asshole he is?”

"No, I don't."

“Two against one, Jack. So, if you’re still with the idiots, hoods up, heads down.”

“Y’know the whole bossy routine was kinda hot in the beginning, but now it’s starting to get on my nerves,” Jack said as he reluctantly pulled his hood over his head.

“Too bad. Let’s go.” Rose turned walking back over to the Technical, Timothy and Jack in tow.

The Vault Hunters and the Atlas jockeys were now outside of the Technical, varying apprehensive looks being thrown around the group. Zane just seemed to be finishing up his explanation when Rose walked up to them.

“Alright, lass, what’d ya got for us?”

“Tim, would you mind showing everyone your face?” Tim slowly pulled down his hood, causing everyone except for Zane to gasp. “I brought him out here to get his mask removed which I’m hoping you’re able to forgive, Rhys?”

Everyone turned to the CEO. “Uh- yeah! Yeah, just. . . wish you told me that instead of visiting the Vault Hunters.”

“Well, technically, I wasn’t exactly lying-” Timothy saw the Vault Hunter’s vicious glare and stopped himself. “I’ll shut up now.”

“Now, the information on who to go to get Timothy’s mask removed is not something so easily found. We had to get some inside information-”

“Oh, c’mon, Rosebud, this isn’t a presentation. You’re _boring_ them.” Before Rose could stop him Jack revealed himself. Rose and Timothy stared down at the ground while the Vault Hunters either pulled out their weapons or stood, petrified. “Heya, kiddos.”

Rhys fainted. “Rhys!” Vaughn cried.

“No. . .” Zane said.

Jack only smiled as a red dot of a sniper rifle planted itself onto his forehead. "Missed me?"


	14. Jack's Outta the Bag

Ever since Rose had started dating Jack she had to hide the fact that she had any sort of relationship with him. 

Handsome Jack’s girlfriend once was a title most envied and seen as something to kill over. Handsome Jack’s fiancée was an even greater one that was much harder to escape from. Really with all the death threats and attempted assassinations Rose should’ve  backed out. But, she was in love. Quite possibly the worst mistake she had ever made. As goes all love stories.

Maybe that’s why Rose was so desperate to get him to Opportunity. Maybe that’s why she jumped in front of him when the guns were drawn. But, then again, this is all speculation. What goes on in the head of Handsome Jack’s fiancée is quite the intimidating enigma.

Either way, her decisions were made. She was standing in front of the Handsome Jack, preventing any of the Vault Hunters from taking a shot for one reason or another.

“I fucking knew it!” Moze exclaimed. “She was working for him this whole time!”

"Please, let me explain."

“This has gone on far enough,” Amara said. “Step away.”

"You can't!"

"Why not?"

Rose scrambled for an answer, the icy feeling of dread coming upon her to find that there was one thing standing in between her and everything she ever wanted. And that was her. All was silent as everyone awaited Rose’s answers. The little trust she had among everyone began to diminish with each second that went by.

"What can he really do?"

Moze narrowed her eyes. "What?"

“What can he do? The man’s dead. He’s been dead for seven years.” The Vault Hunters paused, looking to Rose with great apprehension. “The Vault he’s opened? Closed. The one Siren he had access to? Dead. Let’s not start on Hyperion in his absence. He has nothing. He can do nothing. Why shoot a man who poses no threat?”

Moze raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying you would pass up the chance to shoot the Handsome Jack?”

“Don’t you get it? He’s not Handsome Jack! Not anymore. He’s just some masked idiot who thinks he can still make an impact.”

"Ouch."

“So, you expect us to just. . . let him go?” Amara asked.

Rose smiled. “Guys. With me taking him to Opportunity I’m guiding him to the guillotine. Nobody is going to believe that he’s really alive and if they do, they’re going to kill him on sight.”

"If he's gonna die anyway why don't we just shoot him now?" Moze questioned.

"Trust me, it'd be much more satisfying for all of us to see this dumbass be blown away by his own men."

“What if he’s been planning for this?” FL4K proposed. “Mayhaps he has something in Opportunity specifically made for him returning.”

“Then please, put all the blame on me, put me in the front line when we have to take him down all over again. But, until then, I plan on finishing what I started. With or without you.”

“Love, why are you doing this?” Rose looked to Zane, her heart pounding in her chest.

“I agreed to stick with Jack and his bullshit when I picked up the gun on my front porch. And I want to finish something for once.”

“What makes you think we’ll allow you to?” Amara asked.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I really don’t know. I’ve been thinking of all the ways you’ll deal with me if you found out about all of this and I hope you feel an ounce of pity for me. But, I know pity gets people killed.” There was a tense pause. “Do what you like. I’m bringing Jack to Opportunity and that is final.”

The Vault Hunters glanced to one another. Zane slowly lowered his gun. Then came FL4K, and Amara. The three turned to Vaughn who was still tending to Rhys.

“I. . . don’t have a gun, but if I did - which I don’t - I would drop it.”

This left Moze. The soldier looked around her and her hardened expression began to fall once she saw the look on her girlfriend’s face. She sighed, dropping her gun.

Amara tapped into her inter comm. “Guns down,” she ordered. Rose could swear she could hear someone say “Aww, do we have to?”. “Yes.” The dot in the middle of Jack's forehead fleeted away.

Jack scoffed. "Well, that was unexpected. I can't believe-"

“Jack, if you want to make it to Opportunity, fully and honestly shut up.”

"You're lucky that you're cute."

"And you're lucky that I am such a massive fucking idiot," she muttered.

There was an awkward silence. “So, eh. . . need a ride?” Zane offered, causing the Vault Hunters to turn to him with wide eyes. “We still gotta bring ‘er back when this is over. Best way to keep an eye on ‘er is to be with ‘er.”

“Yeah, no. I’m not riding with him,” Moze said firmly.

“Well lucky for you we’re just out gas so if you any of you just so happens to have-”

FL4K, from their cloak pulled out a gas canister and shook it, it seemed fairly full. “This should last you to Opportunity.” They handed it to Rose who was just as weirded out with them carrying this as the Vault Hunters.

"Oh, thanks. . . FL4K."

"I will do anything to avoid this man." 

“I figured. Jack, fill up the tank.” Rose placed the canister into his arms.

"Why do I-"

"Just do it."  He rolled his eyes before walking over to the Outrunner, leaving the group to deal with their awkward tension. Rose suddenly cleared her throat. “Is Rhys. . . going to be okay?” she asked in an attempt at a distraction.

“Yeah, just looks like he fainted, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Vaughn answered. “Uh, by the way, what happened to our implant?”

“Yeah, it was one of the parts in resurrecting him,” Timothy explained. “I don’t think you’ll be getting that back any time soon.”

“Great. Good. Rhys is gonna be thrilled when he hears that.” Timothy and Rose looked down at the ground in shame, avoiding eye contact.

A loud honking drew everyone’s attention to the Outrunner. “Get in losers! We’re Opportunity bound!”

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose before she made her way back to the car, trying to ignore the eyes on her as she did. “Timothy, how would you feel if I drove our car off a cliff?”

"Could we settle for an electrified puddle?"

* * *

“Nice speech there, Rosebud, gotta hand it to you. It’s not easy to convince a bunch of bandits not to murder me.”

"Oh, I know."

“You know, it’s not too late for you to change your mind. What’d you say? You sneak in when those guys aren’t looking and I get some Loaders to tear them to pieces, huh?”

Rose shook her head. “Was chopping off my own hand not enough of a sign for you?”

“You’re saying that not somewhere deep down you still don’t miss this?”

“Do you want me to shut him up?” Timothy asked.

“He’d make it a big thing. Let’s just wait a little while longer.”

Jack glanced between Rose and Timothy. “Say, Rosebud, how about you tell me how long you’ve been screwing my double?”

"What?!" Timothy exclaimed.

"Jack, what the fuck?"

“Please, I can feel the sexual tension from all the way back here. Either you’ve screwed before or you’re about to.”

Rose shook her head. “Always about sex with you. Can’t I have one goddamn relationship I’ve maintained without me screwing the person?"

"I don't know. Can you?"  


"I can, thank you very much."

“Uh-huh. It’ll happen the moment everyone turns their backs.”

Rose looked on as Opportunity approached. “Maybe if I step on the gas we can die on impact.”

"C'mon, you love me."

"Don't think I do."

"No reason in denying it."

Rose chuckled. “I’m the one in denial? Well, would you look at one-time Mr. Hyperion here getting a Vault Hunter escort into Opportunity as if he’s going to start off where he left off.”

“Say it all you like, Rosebud. I have something whatever the CEO now doesn’t.”

"Oh, yeah? What is that?"

“I put the fear of God into people. The people that I let live? They’re gonna be telling their kids about me. And if they’re too dumb enough to do it imagine the people in my casino. Gotta be a few Jackpot babies by now, I was gone, what? Five, seven years and how long did the Vice District stay open, Tim?”

"Seven years."

Jack giggled. “Yeah, I knew you would know that.” Jack leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. “Hell, even Rhys, Atlas’s CEO fainted at the sight of me. Imagine what will happen once we roll up to the actual gate.”

"Yeah, that's saying it's still there," Rose said.

"Like Hyperion would take down Opportunity."

“Who knows? Raiders might’ve come back after you died to rub salt in the wound.”

“Over my cold, dead. . .” Rose fought the smile forcing its way onto her lips while Timothy held in a laugh. “Shut up.”

It wasn’t long until they reached Opportunity. Much to the Vault Hunter’s surprise it was still standing and it even seemed to have a few renovations over the years. Which means a few things. One, Opportunity’s population must have expanded. Two, Opportunity must have the latest Hyperion technologies. And three, security must be literal murder.

Rose pulled over. “Jack, I’m going to make the mistake of trusting you with the wheel. You’re going to drive up to the gate and either get shot or get inside. Either way, me and Tim will be hiding in the backseat. If you sell us or the Vault Hunters out-”

“You’ll kill me, but not really. Yeah, I get it, pumpkin. Scooch.” Rose glared, but still swapped places with Jack, Timothy soon following. The two ducked, covering themselves with bags and clothing. “I want no funny business back there, got it? Keep it PG.” Rose rolled her eyes. “Hey, Tim, gotta make a phone call, you cool with that? Cool.”

Jack dialed up a number on Timothy’s ECHO. “Hey, kiddo, it’s me again. I’m rolling up to Opportunity - check your security cameras if you don’t believe me - and I’m really hoping you have what I’ve asked of you done.”

"Wha-what?! You said not until sundown!"

Jack laughed. “You really don’t know me at all. When I want something done, I want it done as soon as possible. Now, are Timothy’s and Rose’s files deleted or do I have to track down this phone call and find you?”

“They-they’re almost done, but I haven’t had time to replace them.”

“Chop-chop, kiddo! I’m going up to the gate right now and if I hear their names breathed I’m gonna. . . I dunno. Maybe scoop out your eyeballs with a spoon and feed them to your grandmother?” Rose scrunched up her nose in disgust. “Huh? Ya want that for poor ol’ meemaw?”

"N-no, sir! I'll get this done right away, sir!"

“Good because if not, I hope your meemaw likes eyeballs. Alright, buh-bye, cupcake.” Jack hung up before buckling his seatbelt.

“I hope that guard takes his time with your death,” Rose said.

“Aww, love ya too, Rosebud!” Jack started up the Outrunner and rode up to the gate.

“Halt,” the guard said in a monotone. “Name, business, and net worth?”

“Handsome Jack, here to take back Hyperion, and I’m priceless, baby.” Rose put her hand over her face. He’s gonna die.

“You. . . it-it’s not possible.”

“If it’s not then how am I here?” The sound of a gun being drawn.

“You’re-you’re an imposter!”

“Uh-huh, sure. You’re gonna want to rethink where you’re pointing that gun there, cupcake.”

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Or what? You gonna shoot me?” Famous last words. “Listen, kiddo, this is how this is gonna go down. You’re gonna put down your water pistol, let me through these gates, and get someone to make me a scotch on the rocks or I’m gonna lose my friggin’ mind.” Timothy and Rose waited for a gunshot, but none came. “Uh-huh, there ya go. Now open the gate.” Rose raised her eyebrows as the gate creaked open. “Thanks, pumpkin. Now get someone on my drink or start writing your will, your choice, kid.”

Jack drove through and Rose looked to Timothy in shock. “I can’t believe that worked!” he mouthed.

"Me either!"

". . . What do we do now?"

"I have no idea."

“I know you two must be blown away by my expert persuasion, so let me make this easy. I’m gonna find the a-hole that runs the place, park at their office, and get out of the car. You two have the car to yourselves so do what you want. Screw in it, escape in it, or get killed in it. Let’s try to avoid the ladder and the former though, okay? Okay.”

Rose could hear various gasps and exclamations from the outside, Jack even responded to some of them. Various greetings and flirtations that caused much distress. Jack barked out a laugh. “It’s good to be back.” Shortly after he said that, the car stopped. “Ohohoho, yeah, this is the place.” Jack put the Outrunner in park, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Alright, last call, kids. Wanna follow me in?” 

Rose emerged from hiding. “Yeah, no, I’ve had my fill of nightmare fuel, thanks.”

“Rose, is out. Timothy? Obviously you can’t be me again, but I can definitely get you something that pays better than the peanuts Rhys is throwing you.” Slowly, Timothy’s middle finger emerged from the pile of clothing. Jack smiled. “Stuck-up asshole to the end. I respect that.” Jack went to open the door. “Oh, I’d say I’d return this sweatshirt, but it’s surprisingly comfy. I gotta get my PR team on this.”

“Yeah, sure, just steal another concept that’s not yours. Rhys won’t mind.”

“Thanks, kiddo. I’ll make sure to send my regards.” Jack opened the door and Rose hurriedly climbed into the front seat. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” Before Rose could counter saying something along the lines of “it’s goodbye now” Jack grabbed her chin and pressed his lips against hers.

An action that fired up a ton of emotions, new and old, all of them extremely conflicting. Jack pulled away with a smirk. “Don’t forget to call.” With that, Jack turned around, making his way to the main offices. “Hey, idiots! Where’s my scotch?” Rose shook her head, infuriated as she started up the Outrunner, making her way out of Opportunity.

“What happened?” Timothy asked.

“Don’t speak. We’re surrounded,” Rose said in a hushed voice. Timothy reluctantly stayed silent, but she knew he was still silently wondering if Jack had touched her. She hopes his concerns will ease once they return to the Vault Hunters.


	15. Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Rose wrapped her arms around Timothy. “I’m sorry I drove you across the desert with Handsome Jack in the backseat.”

“I think that is the single weirdest apology I’ve ever heard.”

Rose smiled. “It was a weird situation that I shouldn’t have put you in.”

“It’s okay. I mean, I got my mask off without you having to scrape Tim bits off the wall, so I’d say it was worth it.” Rose laughed as she pulled away.

She was going to comment on “Tim bits”, but gave pause when she saw Amara hauling in Rhys. “Is. . . he going to be okay?” 

Timothy looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, you won’t believe how often this happens. He should come to in an hour or so.”

"That's good at least."

Timothy turned back to Rose. “You sure everything’s okay with you?

Rose discreetly scratched the palm of her hand. “Yeah, yeah, I just need some sleep is all.”

“Alright. Just. . . call if you need someone to talk to.” _Don’t forget to call._

Rose pushed down that thought. "I'll be fine, Tim. Don't worry."

Timothy smiled. “Okay.” Rose mirrored his expression. “I’ll go get settled with Vaughn then. I’ll see you later?”

“I’ll see you later, Tim.” Timothy waved before making his way back to the offices. Rose dropped the smile, looking back at the Fast Travel where the rest of the Vault Hunters were waiting. Some had the courtesy to look away when she looked back, but others just stared, their judgement boring into her.

The conversation of releasing Handsome Jack was far from over and Rose has never felt more tired.

One by one, the Vault Hunters filed onto Sanctuary, earning a variety of praises and greetings from the patrons of the ship, Rose included, but she had to wave them off. She couldn’t deal with this when she was the person responsible for the resurrection of Handsome Jack.

A hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to tense, but she relaxed once she saw it was only Zane. “Let’s pop you over to Moxxi’s then we’ll get you home, okay?” Rose nodded. “Okay.” Zane kept his hand on Rose’s shoulder, shielding her from the B Team as they made their way over to the bar.

Moxxi was behind her bar, cleaning out glasses with a rag, her gaze distant. “Hey, Moxxi!” Tina called.

“We brought something for you,” Brick announced.

Moxxi looked over and as soon as she saw Rose she seemed to light up. Rose smiled while Moxxi came out from behind the bar to pull Rose into a hug.

"Hey, Moxx."

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you again, sugar.” Moxxi departed, looking up at the lights of the bar, blinking feverishly.

“Moxx, are you crying?” Rose asked, laughter in her voice.

“Not today. This mascara is more expensive than it looks.” Rose chuckled, her doubts and fears washing away as Moxxi joined. The barkeep turned to the Vault Hunters. “Thank you for bringing her back. I have your rewards behind the counter, should be three little brown packages, you can’t miss them.”

“Thanks, Moxxi, you stay fine, shawty.” Tina skipped off for the bar, hopping over the counter. Mordecai and Brick followed behind, Rose didn’t unsee the judging look in their eyes as they spared her one last glance.

"I'm sorry I worried you."

“No, no, don’t be, I’m just glad you’re okay.” Moxxi’s eyebrows pulled together once she further examined Rose’s face. “Right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, Moxx, I’m just. . . tired is all.”

"Oh, well, if that's the case I always have a bed in the back for you, you know." Rose eyed the Vault Hunters, examining their loot at the bar. Their staring contest is still not letting up.

"I think it's best if I went home to rest."

Moxxi's eyebrows raised, knitting in concern. "Are you sure?"

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll call you as soon as I get home though, okay?”

Moxxi smiled. “Okay. Stay safe, sugar.” Moxxi leaned over, kissing Rose on the cheek. “Come back soon,” she whispered, making shivers run up Rose’s spine. Moxxi giggled, pulling away. “See you later, honey.”

"See ya, Moxx."

“Alright, lass, quit droolin’, let’s get ya home.” The barkeep waved while Zane escorted Rose to the fast travel, keeping a good distance away from the Vault Hunters. “I’ll try to talk to ‘em, but you’re gonna have to face them yourself eventually.”

“Oh, I’m gonna have to face a lot of things eventually.”

“Yeah, I know.” Zane began setting their coordinates into the fast travel, the silence he left, slowly breaking Rose’s heart.

"Are you. . . mad at me?"

"No. Just scared is all."

"Scared?"

Zane took a moment to arrange his words. “I know you’re hidin’ somethin’. Somethin’ ‘bout him.”

“I haven’t really had time to talk about all of that,” Rose said in an attempt to ease Zane.

He peered over his shoulder. “So you’re sayin’ when ya do you’ll tell me everythin’?” The dull sound of a metal thumb scraping against a metal palm was all the Operative got in return. Zane turned back to the fast travel. “Whatever it is, lass, you can tell me it and I’ll try to understand it. Best I can.” Zane was about to submit the coordinates when Rose grabbed his wrist. The Operative turned to look down at her. 

“Why are you doing this? Everyone that knows about me and Him immediately turn against me. Why not you?”

Zane smiled sadly. “ ‘Cause I love ya. And I might be a fool for that, but I do. ‘Sides, I really doubt you’ll be doin’ any funny business with Him. Tim maybe, but not Him.” Rose couldn’t fight the incredulous smile that wormed its way onto her lips. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Tim?"

“Eh, the lad’s not too bad o’ a looker. . . wait, that came out wrong.” Rose laughed and Zane beamed. 

The couple giggled, pressed the confirmation button and they were gone.

* * *

“When do you think FL4K’s going to come back with Daisy?” Rose asked as the couple moved through the mud, blasting a few critters here and there as they did so.

“Well, with Chewy bein’ on the bench ‘cause o’ his broken leg, I think FL4K’s gonna take this as an opportunity to properly train ‘er ‘til either she’s ready or good ol’ Chew’s back in the game.” Zane fired. “Ha-ha!” he cheered as what appeared to be a tadpole Saurian popped.

"I thought I saw both Skags with casts."

“Ya did. Moze told me Daisy kept whinin’ ‘cause Chew got to have a cast, so she made another one for her.”

"Awww."

"Yeah, it was real sweet. Wish you were there."

“That would’ve been a little problematic since I was responsible for two broken bones that day.”

“Ah! With Amara you might as well just say one.” Rose eyed Zane’s arm as he fired once more.

"It's amazing what Sirens can do."

“Yeah, you’re tellin’ me. Two o’clock.” Rose turned, not even really blinking as she took out the racing Saurian.

"Have I ever told you about when I revisited Tannis's old lab?"

"Hmm, don't think so."

“Well, after the whole Great Vault adventure was over I went back to Roland’s Rest alone. I. . . when I was with Him, he didn’t tell me anything. I never knew about Angel, I just knew about this ‘AI’ that was supposedly helping him with the Vault. I only found it out from the Raiders. Nine.”

Zane simply deployed his clone. It waved at Rose to which she waved back before it got to work. “Go get ‘em, boyo. You were sayin’?”

“Tannis explained how that lab was where he kept her and I had to go back. . . . When I did I found some disturbing things. Pictures she had drawn, her old toys, the imprints she left on them.” Rose looked up to Zane. “Did you know Sirens can store whole memories into objects?”

"Oh, shite."

"Yeah. Oh, shit. I didn’t see everything, but I saw enough. I think about that place sometimes and I wonder if things could’ve been different.”

"Different how?"

“I don’t know, I could’ve found out and maybe taken her with me.”

“There’s no way you could’ve known, love.”

"I know, but if I did then maybe. . . ."

“And maybe you could’ve been Handsome Jack’s _wife_. If we all keep thinkin’ ‘bout the maybes we’ll be here all day with nothin’ but a headache and a whole lot o’ disappointment.”

“Well, you have to think of some maybes. If I thought about some maybes I would’ve chucked that Jackhammer into a swamp.”

“And if ya thought ‘bout some more you’ll know that someone is oughta gonna come ‘round sometime to take ‘im up. Someone that might’ve put ‘im in a much higher place.”

"Yeah, and you're looking at her."

Zane frowned slightly. “You said it yourself, love, there’s no way the bastard is gonna last long.”

"Maybe," she whispered.

* * *

It wasn’t long until the couple reached Rose’s hut which was luckily not ransacked in her absence. When she opened the door she felt as if she could just collapse.

It had been so long it felt since she was home. Zane put his gun down on the kitchen table and turned to Rose whose body refused to move.

He smiled warmly. “Ready for bed, _pumpkin_?” Rose furrowed her eyebrows, her head snapping up to Zane.

"What?"

"I said are you ready for bed, lass?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah."

Zane came over, closing the door for her. “What’d you thought I said?”

Rose took off her gun holster, placing it next to Zane’s. “Something stupid, it doesn’t matter.”

“Alright then.” Zane led Rose to the bedroom and she didn’t bother to take off her boots once she saw the bed. She fell forward, her head hitting the pillow. “Alright, love?”

"Mhm."

She could hear Zane chuckling. “You weren’t kiddin’ about bein’ tired.” She felt a dip in the bed as Zane sat down beside her, taking off his boots at the very least before laying beside her. “Good night, Rose.”

“G’night,” she murmured before allowing herself to finally rest for the first time in an eternity.

* * *

Rose softly stirred, her eyes beginning to open. She was blinded by a bright, golden light. She groaned as her eyes scrambled to adjust.

She looked over and sighed. “I thought I was done with you.”

“Well obviously, you’re not.” Jack took a strawberry from the platter beside him, cramming it into his mouth. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Rose sat up, drawing her knees to her chest as she watched Jack take down the mountain of strawberries one by one.

“Can’t I have one normal night of sleep without you interrupting it?”

“Listen, sweetheart, I’m just the amalgamation of your subconscious. I’m only here because your dumb little monkey brain is trying to process all of the me you’re putting through. If you really wanted me to go away I wouldn’t be here. But obviously,” the blank panels that Rose mistook as white walls seemed to be a collage of Jack kissing her, all in different angles and filters, “you got something on your mind.”

Rose looked down shamefully. The panels went blank once more. “So, we gonna have a therapy sesh or do you want to return to your regularly scheduled programming?” Jack offered.

"If those are the choices I have."

“Well, you know, other than waking up which you never can when you want to in dreams. . . . Why is that?”

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're asking yourself that. Keep up, kiddo."

Rose shook her head. “Alright. So, why does he- you still want with me? Really?”

Jack laughed. “Rosebud, I can’t answer questions about me! You know as much of what he’s doing as I do. Literally. This is all ‘bout you, baby!”

"What's the point in me talking to you then?"

Jack shrugged. “Closure?” He popped another strawberry into his mouth. “Punishing yourself? How about actually thinking the Jack shit through so that you can put it into some sort of label?”

"I know who Jack is," she claimed.

Jack leaned forward, causing Rose to lean back. “Is that right? Who am I then, Rosie? Hit me with everything you got.”

“You’re a psychopathic asshole that books executions for an afternoon.”

"Creative! I got goosebumps. Wish it was true."

"What do you mean that's not true?"

“I didn’t specify. Who am I to _you,_ Rosebud? Not everything people have told you, but _you_. What do you think?” Jack took another strawberry.

“I think if you keep eating like that you’ll be vomiting pink shit for the next few hours.”

"You're avoiding the question. What do you think of me?"

"If you're looking for a compliment-"

“Hey, genius! This is your head! I’m not actually Jack remember? Amalgamation?”

"Well, we're playing pretend, aren't we?"

“Sure seems it. ‘Cause I think when it comes down to it Jack isn’t some psycho-murderer. . . to you.”

"And what makes you think that?"

“For starters, how about we talk about that kiss?” The panels redisplayed the image. Rose pressed her lips together, her face becoming hot.

"I didn't kiss him."

“With all of those hormones and little chemicals in your brain that make you go woo! You might as well have.”

"But I didn't."

“Yet you hid it ever happened to anyone who’ll ask! Even from your own self! I had to really dig to get these images.” Jack leaned forward yet again. “So he kissed you, a supposed big no-no in your book, yet endorphins are runnin’ amuck and you hid it from not only Tim, not only Zane, not only the Vault Hunters, but you tried to suppress the memory!”

“What would be the point of sicking everyone on him? He’s going to die anyway!”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Is he? Because you’re parading around the fact that ‘he’ll die soon’, but I think you just said that to get the Vault Hunters off his back.” Rose looked down. “Ahhh, we’re getting somewhere, huh?”

"I needed to finish the mission."

“Your mission was to kill Jack! And what did you do? You brought him back and convinced the Crimson Raiders to drop him off at Opportunity of all places.”

"The idiot is going to get himself killed soon enough."

"Yeah, you said that when you were dating him too."

"And I was right!"

“Years later! Years with Handsome Jack in Hyperion is an eternity of suffering. You’re supposed to know that better than anyone else, right? Yet you still let him go.” Rose scratched the back of her hand. “Rose.” She looked up. 

The Jack’s in the recreation of the kiss had at least one eye open now, peaking in on her, taunting her. Heterochromia horrors, boring into her. “What am I to you?”

"You're evil."

"Uh-huh."

"And vile."

"Mhm."

"You kill with a smile."

"Yeah."

"You're manic!"

"Say it!"

"And plastic! And so fucking overdramatic!"

He caught her chin and Rose stopped. "But you still love me, don't you?"


	16. Divide and Conquer

They say that dreams take place in a span of a few seconds which is bizarre to most people since most dreams have complex storylines that movie editors could wish they could fit in two hours. To Rose, she had been inside her personal movie theatre for far too long when she had maybe only been there for a few seconds.

Nevertheless, what happened in that dream still hasn’t left her and she wasn’t entirely sure it ever will. It was everything that had been knocking around her head ever since she left Jack. Well, everything aside from the strawberries. What was with the strawberries? Does she want strawberries?

She shook her head. She’s getting off track, she has to sort out this Jack shit. . . . Right? I mean, that’s what people do, right? They have weird ass, oddly psychological dreams then they dissect them and try to reform or some shit. Rose sighed, tiredly. Becoming a psycho doesn’t seem too bad right now.

Her ECHO rang, clearing the fog of thoughts. Without looking at the contact, she answered.

"Hello?"

“Hey there, Rosebud.” Her heart sank. “You thought I’d be dead by now, huh?” Rose couldn’t bring herself to speak. “I’ll take your stunned silence as a yes. Listen, I’m sure those bandits have taken you up on their flying trash heap by now, so I’ll make this quick. Hyperion’s back on track, baby and it’s all thanks to you. I’m going to be picking you up sometime in the near future when I take down Sanctuary and get my hands on Lilith and that other Siren. Don’t worry about a go-bag, I’ll buy you better clothes. Sound good, babe? Alright. Love you!” Jack hung up.

Great, just what she needed. Another thing she needs to explain to the Vault Hunters while trying not to sound jack-shit. . . . Disregard that last sentence.

The Vault Hunters are not going to be happy about Jack living after all. She could make up a half-assed excuse about how he’s sure to go down soon, but at this point her credibility is so far in the ground that that just might make her inevitable punishment just a little bit worse. Then again, if she says nothing she’s not any better off. Rose groaned. She hated her life.

Her ECHO rang once more and this time, Rose checked the ID. Moxxi. Rose took in a deep breath before putting on a smile and pressing call.

“Hey, Moxx. Sorry, I didn’t call sooner, I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed.”

"Oh, I didn't wake you, did I?"

“No, I’m still on that Pandoran schedule,” she lied. “What are you doing up?”

“Closing the bar for the night and I realized you hadn’t called and I thought I’d check up on you.”

Rose's face grew warm. "You really don't have to worry about me, Moxx."

“I know. But I want to.” Rose smiled. “What’s with the daggers the Vault Hunters were throwing at you earlier?”

“The B Team found out about me and Him and that got some of the shinies riled up.”

“You want me to talk some sense into ‘em?” Moxxi asked, her accent slipping.

“No, no, just. . . let them simmer down. This all is bound to come out sooner or later.”

"You should decide whether or not you talk about it, though."

Rose chuckled. “I’m Handsome Jack’s fiancée, Moxx.” She glanced down at her steel hand, seeing the streaks of silver from her repetitive scratching. “I don’t have a chance.”

"You've made it this far, haven't you?"

“Yeah.” And she’s ruined it all. “Yeah, I have.” Rose continued to stare at her prosthetic, the shimmering silver not unlike the ring that made her get such a hand in the first place.

“Rose? You still there, sugar?”

Rose took in a breath. “Moxxi, I’m going to need you to do something for me.”

“Sure,” Moxxi said, a little taken off guard.

"Take Tannis, Ava, and Amara off of Sanctuary."

Moxxi chuckled slightly. “What? What’s brought this on?”

“I heard something about Hyperion looking for more Sirens and since we have three out of six in existence right now I think it’s best if we get them somewhere safe.”

"Safer than Sanctuary?"

“I know since He passed Hyperion hasn’t been quite itself, but with their intergalactic weapons it’s bound to put a hole through Sanctuary beyond fixing.”

"Sugar, where'd you get this information?"

“I was being held captive by a Hyperion employee.” Best way to lie is to tell a little truth. “I just got a call from them saying that they’re going to shoot down Sanctuary and take the Sirens with them. And it might be a threat, but I don’t want to take chances with them.” Moxxi went dead quiet. “At least tell them. I don’t know if that’ll do anything, but I can’t stay quiet about this.”

"Rose, what is going on?"

“I. . . I’ve made some mistakes, Moxxi. Lots of them actually. I don’t think I can ever make up for them, but I’m going to try.”

"Rose, what are you saying?"

“If the Vault Hunters won’t tell you first, well, it’s bound to come out sooner or later.”

“Rose, whatever this is you can talk to me, we can work this out-”

“Moxxi.” The bartender waited, heavily anticipating Rose’s next words. “You never told me about what you thought of my letter.”

"What?"

“My letter. The one where I said I wanted to try again?”

"Are you really doing this now?"

“We all might die tomorrow, better time than any in my book.”

Moxxi sighed. "I wish Ava was here for once."

"Why?"

"The girl is convinced dating girls is easier."

Rose’s eyebrows raised. “So. . . is that a yes on trying again?”

Moxxi laughed, making Rose grin. “Yes, Rose, I’m up for trying again if you are, but how ‘bout we circle back on this big secret you have?”

“When I get back, Moxx, let’s go out for some drinks. On me.”

"Where are-" Rose hung up.

She got up from the kitchen chair, grabbing her gun holster and buckling it back up. Rose walked back to her bedroom where Zane was still sleeping. Quietly, she grabbed some extra clothes and other necessities and threw them into the duffel bag that once held the faithful Hyperion SMG. Slipping her pistol into its place and hauling the duffel bag onto her shoulder, she turned to Zane who was still snoring away.

Rose went over to him, gently brushing back his hair and placing a kiss onto his forehead. The Operative hardly stirred. Rose left her hut, trudging back through the mud and swamps of Eden-6 before reaching the Fast Travel.

She steadied her hand while her steel one busied itself with scraping away at its palm. She was going to say she hoped she still knew the coordinates for the office, but if she merely gets in the ballpark all she has to do is utter three words. "Handsome Jack’s fiancée".

Swallowing her fear and pushing back the maybes, she punched in the numbers, dreading each and every digit entered. There’s no going back after this. By doing this she kisses everything goodbye and she knows it.

Taking in a sharp breath, Rose pressed enter and in an instant she was gone. And she was found in Jack’s office. He was at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet up, about to pick apart a platter of strawberries. 

He smiled widely. “You still remembered the coordinates.”

Rose looked to Jack, a stern expression on her face. “Yep.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger, c’mon.” He waved her over to his desk.

Rose stood her ground. “I came here so you would leave Sanctuary alone. I’ll very well leave if I even _feel_ it’s in danger.”

Jack considered this for a moment. “Well, Rosebud, if you remember my message, I was going to get you, Lilith, and that new chick so Sanctuary being safe is still a no go.”

"They're gone."

"C'mon, sweetheart, you can't fool me that easily."

“Lilith disappeared after the last Vault opened. No one knows where she is, even the Crimson Raiders. You can look it up if you don’t believe me.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And the purple one?"

“She got into a fight with her girlfriend after they dropped me off. She said she was going to cool off, but no one can find her,” Rose lied.

He took his feet off the desk, resting his arms on it instead. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, princess?”

"No."

"Come here, then." Hesitantly, Rose walked forward, leaving everything else behind.

* * *

Zane softly awoke from his deep sleep at the feeling of absence in the bed. For Zane, this feeling isn’t unfamiliar whenever he’s out and about while Rose does her own thing, but with the smell of her still being on the pillow and the stench of swamps just outside the hut he knew this was unusual.

A part of him still groggy from sleep concluded he must be on Sanctuary, but his bed on Sanctuary doesn’t have this much room. The Operative opened his eye seeing that this was not the case and that Rose was indeed gone.

His brow furrowed. “Darlin’?” he called softly. He sat up, rubbing his face. “Lass?” No response.

Figuring she must be somewhere else in the hut, he got out of bed. “Love? Y’there?” Still, no response. Zane moved onto the kitchen, flicking on the light seeing that her holster was gone. That’s when Zane began to worry. She either went out to clear out the area around her hut again or she left. Again.

Zane gave her the benefit of the doubt and went to the front door in search of her, taking out his ECHO as he did. “Rose?” he called. She didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. “Rose?” he called out once more, but to no avail.

Worried, he typed up her number. “Probably nothin’, she might’ve just went for a walk,” he murmured to himself as he waited for her to pick up.

. . . No answer. Still not quite unusual, she might’ve needed to clear her head. Rose often hikes to the Jakobs manor which would explain why her gun was gone along with her. Zane might need to have a talk with her about leaving a note next time, but he’s feeling optimistic otherwise.

That was when he got a call from FL4K. “Oi, Beastie! How goes Sanctuary?”

“The ship is fine. Do you know where Rose is by any chance?”

“Eh. . . no, not exactly, why’d ya ask?”

“Our associates caught up to the local news and we would like to speak with her.”

". . . What's happenin' in the news?"

"You haven't heard?"

"Eden-6 time, FL4K, I just woke up."

“Apologies then, allow me to elaborate. Your girlfriend put Handsome Jack back into power.”

* * *

“Tim? Tim. Bro. Hey, bro.” Timothy blearily opened his eyes.

“Vaughn?” The doppel sat up, rubbing his face, giving pause for a moment before remembering he no longer had the mask. “What are you doing in my apartment?”

“Yeah, sorry, I knocked on your door, but you didn’t answer. I used the key you keep under your cat statue.”

"Is. . . everything good?"

Vaughn knitted his eyebrows into an extremely worried look. “Do you want the mildly bad news or the worse bad news first?” Timothy’s mind immediately began racing with possibilities. The least terrifying ones involved what happened to Rhys when he came back passed out to Sasha and even those. . . . 

"Mildly bad, I guess?"

“Well, Sasha found out about what happened.” Timothy’s eyebrows shot up. “Rhys is okay! For now at least.”

"What's the worse bad news?"

Vaughn hesitated before sitting down next to Tim. “Jack is in charge of Hyperion again.” Timothy paled. “And. . . the Vault Hunters lost track of Rose.” Timothy’s eyes flickered away from Vaughn, landing on a particular stitch in the carpet. “Bro? . . .You good?” His stomach began to churn, the smell of that damned casino lobster filling his nostrils.

“I’m gonna be sick.” Timothy hurriedly grabbed the waste basket beside his bed, emptying what little was in his stomach. Vaughn quickly pulled the doppel’s hair back. Once Timothy was done, he hovered over the basket, paler than ever.

“Yeah there was nothing I could do to cushion that blow, but you’re taking it a lot better than I thought you would.”

"What's the plan?"

"What?"

“Jack’s no doubt going to go after Atlas with. . . whatever relationship he had with Rhys and the Vault Hunters are going to need help finding Rose. What’s the plan?”

“No one has a plan. Not yet. Right now, we’re trying to convince Sasha to not murder Rhys and keeping us sorta kinda under the radar.”

“Waiting is not going to do us any good. I bet you Jack’s already sent down troops. We need to contact Lorelei.” Vaughn opened his mouth to protest when Timothy cut in. “Just say he found out about a rogue doppelganger working at Atlas. Good enough of an excuse as any, go get her on a call and I’ll handle Rhys and Sasha.”

Vaughn’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. “Bro, after this we have to promote you.”

“No, duh, kiddo, now chop-chop, lives are on the line!” Timothy sighed. “Sorry that slipped, just. . . get going, go!”

“On it, bro! Don’t strain yourself!” Vaughn reminded as he made his way out of Timothy’s apartment, being sure to close the door behind him.

* * *

“What do you mean we have to leave?”

_Ava, a danger to society like all children._

“Amara will explain everything to you, honey, but for now we have to get you off of this ship,” Moxxi said, handing the girl her go-bag.

“I- I’m not going!” Ava exclaimed, dropping her bag. “Not until I get an explanation!”

Moxxi placed her hands on the young girl’s shoulders. “Ava, I know you’re confused, but it’s not safe for you here. You’ll be safer on Athenas with Amara and Tannis.”

“I don’t care! Whatever it is I want to stay here and fight!”

“Ava, listen to me. If anyone gets a hold of you, you won’t be the only one in danger. Millions- billions of people are at risk right now! Which is why we need to get you to somewhere safe and we need to do it now. Do you understand?” Slowly, Ava nodded. “Good. Now you head on down to Ellie’s to get dropped off. _Don’t_ use any Fast Travels, keep your ECHO on, but don’t answer to any unknown number, use my untrackable Catch-A-Ride account if you need to, and stick with Tannis and Amara no matter what, okay?”

Frowning, Ava hugged Moxxi tightly. “You guys will be here when I get back, right?” she asked, sorrow in her voice.

Hesitantly, Moxxi returned the hug. “Of course.” She pulled away, placing her hand on Ava’s cheek. “Now you get going, okay?”

The young girl braved a smile. "Okay."

Moxxi smiled back comfortingly. “That’s a good girl. Come on.” Ava grabbed her bag and Moxxi escorted her out of her room where the two older Sirens waited, reassuring smiles on their faces.

"Ava!"

_Tannis, Mad Siren-tist_

greeted. “How about you go on ahead with Amara? I need to spare a word with Moxxi here.”

“Uh. . . sure.” Amara led Ava toward Ellie’s. “Amara, what’s going on?” Moxxi heard Ava ask faintly.

"I'll explain later."

Once out of earshot, Tannis turned to Moxxi. “Moxxi, while I am aware of Handsome Jack’s return and what that may mean for the future, what is the need for hiding us? The Vault he opened while he was still alive has closed. Besides, the Siren he would truly want is off in the cosmos somewhere.”

Moxxi surveyed Tannis, unsure if she should even speak of Rose in her presence. There’s no doubt if she unveils what the Vault Hunters were trying to keep from her it could simply add fuel to the fire that is already brewing in Sanctuary.

“I don’t want to take any risks and while I’m not exactly one to call shots someone has to do something about you three. Whether you like it or not you’re three of the six Sirens out there, all of which in Jack’s reach. If something happened to Sanctuary, we could all be in a hell of a lot of trouble.”

Tannis didn’t seem very satisfied with Moxxi’s explanation, but she knows better than to argue with her, especially at times like this. “Alright, but if you need us for whatever reason-”

“I’ll call you. Don’t worry, Tannis. I’m good at multitasking.” Moxxi sent Tannis a wink, effectively flustering her and diffusing the situation. “Now you get a move on. Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but I’d much rather you all in one piece.”

“Alright, I’ll contact you once we reach Athenas,” Tannis said before joining the other two Sirens.

Moxxi waved. "Stay safe." Someone has to.

* * *

Sanctuary was in high tensions ever since the news of Handsome Jack literally coming back from the dead came out. The passengers were calmed down after Tannis had given them a realistic, but somewhat inspiring speech, but the whisperings of fears and anxieties had not ceased. Soldiers, citizens, hell, even the Vault Hunters.

“This is just great,” Moze said sarcastically. “We let Handsome Jack’s fiancee get him back into power just because she batted her eyelashes at us.” She put her face in her hands. “What are we going to do?” Broodless nudged FL4K who had preoccupied themselves with the sleeping Daisy in their lap.

“Do not chew on my coat this time, it is not nutritional,” they said firmly before letting the Spiderant climb up their arm and get settled in their coat. “The time has not yet come where we must speak of the incident on Pandora. For now I believe we should try to find Rose. She did say to put her on the front line if something like this were to happen.”

“Yeah, easier said than done, do you remember the trouble we had finding her the first time?”

“I am aware, but that does not mean we cannot do it again.”

“If Zane even participates this time. Chances are he’s halfway across the galaxy now trying to get to her before we do.”

“Do not judge him for that.” Moze looked up. “You would do the same if this was Amara, would you not?”

Moze paused before reluctantly answering. “Yeah. I would.”

“Then we shall compensate without judgement if Zane decides to hunt Rose down without us. At some point we need to separate them, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Moze opened her mouth to speak when a knock came upon FL4K’s door. “Moze? Are you in there?” Amara’s voice called.

"I believe that is for you," FL4K said.

Moze got up from FL4K’s bunk and went across the room to answer the door. “I’m leaving for Athenas.”

“A-already? I-I thought we’d have more time-”

“Going off of Moxxi legitimately being worried it’s best if we leave now.”

“Well, okay, I-. . . I, uh - god, I suck at this,” she muttered.

Amara reached out, taking Moze’s hand. “I know we haven’t been on the best of terms lately, Moze, but that doesn’t change anything between us, okay?”

Moze smiled. “Okay.” Moze leaned forward, giving Amara a brief goodbye kiss. “Stay safe.”

"You too."

"Amara! We must get a move on!" Tannis called.

“Duty calls. I’ll be sure to contact you once I’m on Athenas.”

“Sounds good.” Amara kissed Moze once more before leaving for Athenas.

The melancholy moment of watching her girlfriend walk away was interrupted by FL4K’s soft order. “Broodless, while it is adorable, please stop eating my coat.”

Moze sighed. “Alright, FL4K, cuddle time is over, we got to find Rose before things get messy.”

“I don’t believe now is the time.” Eyebrows furrowed, Moze turned around to face the robot seated on the floor.

"Why not?"

"Daisy just fell asleep and I do not wish to wake her."


	17. Welcome Back!

Jack had just finished his broadcast to any station he could reach, an extremely idiotic move on his part, but Rose supposed that’s one step further of him being stopped. But that’s also a step further to murderous corporations storming Opportunity and taking her hostage.

“Well, Rosebud? You just gonna sit there in the corner and glare at me or you gonna tell me what you think?” he asked, striding over to the couch where Rose resided.

“I think you’re in over your head.” Jack plopped down next to Rose, resting his arm on the back of the couch. She scooted away.

He grabbed the bowl of nuts from the coffee table and picked out the cashews. “And I think you worry too much.”

“Only because you throw caution into the wind. You’re finally alive again and your first decision is to tell anyone and everyone.”

“Babe, it was gonna come out sooner or later.”

“If you really wanted to get. . . whatever it is you’re doing done before you die again you would’ve shot for later.”

“This thing is gonna take a while, sooner or later are the same difference at this point.”

Rose squinted, confused. “What are you planning to do?”

Jack grinned. "It's a surprise."

"But it's going to come out sooner or later, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, see what you did there. I am well aware of the irony, Rosebud, but it'll make no difference. Best if this project stays on the down low."

"You really going to repeat the same mistakes you did when you were alive?"

Jack threw a handful of cashews into his mouth. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Until it didn't. How do you think you'll go this time, Jack? I hardly think the Vault Hunters would settle to put some lead into you again."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Alright, if it's so important to you. I'll tell you. But, only for you, Rosebud." Jack began searching for the cashews again. "So, all of those alien guardian things protecting the Vaults are super pissed about us committing mass genocide against them, opening the Vaults, and taking their shit. They're planning a mass attack against all Vault Hunters, young ones, old ones, retired ones, they don't care. If you've opened a Vault or at least tried to they're coming for you."

"How do you know this?"

"The Vault back on Elpis, before Lilith interrupted I could see everything that was about to unfold. My plan _was_ to cleanse Pandora of Vault Hunters so it was less of a target and have a kickass monster ready to obey my every command, but thanks to your bandit buddies things didn’t work out that way."

"Oh, yes, mass genocide. How heroic."

"Fewer people, fewer Vault Hunters."

"You have the logic of a child."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You want me to go on or not?"

"Fine. Yes. What's your brilliant plan this time?"

“Get Hyperion in order to produce some badass weapons, hunt down your Siren friends and use them as a sort of buffer while I get us into hiding.”

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "That's it?"

“Unless there’s another Vault ready to be opened or a shit ton of Eridium nearby.”

"There's gotta be another way."

“Wish there was, Rosebud, but our options are slim. Either we get some buffers and buy us sometime or we just wait for the War.”

“Jack, this is a common threat to anyone who has ever tried to open a Vault. Wouldn’t it be better to band together and try to stop this?”

“That’s cute, cupcake, real cute. But what makes you think those bandits would give me a chance or vice versa?” Rose had nothing. “The fact of the matter is, the borderlands is every man for himself. I have my men, your bandit buddies have theirs.” Jack reached out to Rose, more than likely to grab her chin or brush away a strand of hair, but stopped. Much to Rose’s surprise he seemed to have remembered their chat about boundaries.

He offered the bowl of mixed nuts as a substitute. “You can’t be the in-between, Rosebud. You’re either with me or you’re not.” Hesitantly, Rose accepted the bowl.

“Does that mean when the time comes if I go back to the Vault Hunters-”

“No. Even if you do decide to go back for whatever reason, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said definitively. “I just won’t be able to help you.”

“Good,” she said as she picked out a walnut. “Because I don’t need your help.” She popped the nut into her mouth, crunching down on it.

* * *

_Sasha, part-time kid sister, full time explorer_

has been calmed down and is now standing at a vending machine alongside Timothy. Timothy punched in some digits, Sasha’s candy bar came tumbling down. He bent down and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she said quietly before tearing it open.

“No problem.” Tim flashed a polite smile and sat down.

Sasha took the seat next to him. “You know a candy bar is not going to make-up for anything.”

“Didn’t think it would. I just thought that you could use a break.”

“I appreciate the thought.” Sasha took a bite out of her candy bar, chewing thoughtfully. “Me and my sister used to raid snack machines like that,” she spoke. “It was more or less our first missions. I’d make up a distraction while Fiona grabbed as much food as she could and we’d run off to whatever our next destination was.” Sasha’s fond smile faded. “After Helios crashed and I almost died I was sick of the lying and cheating and stealing.

"I was hoping with me and Fi’s newfound fortune we’d make sure we’d never have to do that again, but obviously she had to disappear with the money.” Sasha peeled more of the wrapper away. “All I have now is Rhys and now I find out he’s been keeping another giant secret for me that put everyone in jeopardy.”

"Not all of it was Rhys's fault."

“But if he had told the truth Jack wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“There still would’ve been some psycho out there running around with his AI that just so happened to be wired into a gun.”

“So you’re saying this is better?”

“No! No, it- this is a shit show. The shittiest of shit shows in fact. No one is denying that and if they do they have some self-reflection they need to do. But, it was going to be a shit show either way. What’s different this time is that we have a second chance of ending this. Once and for all.”

Sasha gave out a light laugh. “Yeah, pretty sure the Crimson Raiders said the same thing seven years ago.”

"We got an advantage this time."

"And what is that?"

“The Crimson Raiders didn’t have Atlas last time.” Sasha opened her mouth, more than likely to argue when the doors to Rhys’s office opened, revealing none other than the CEO himself.

Sasha turned toward Rhys, taking another bite out of her candy bar as she waited for him to speak. “I’m a big, dumb asshole who shouldn’t have lied to you,” he admitted.

Sasha smiled sadly before getting up and walking over to the Rhys for a hug. “I know. But you’re my big, dumb asshole.”

Rhys chuckled. “You know, Sasha, it’s cool if you don’t forgive me like ever. This is. . . I think the worst thing I have done.”

Sasha pulled away. “Oh, I know, but I also know if there’s a promise of me maybe forgiving you, you’d let me come along with you to kill Handsome Jack. Properly this time.”

". . . Will that work?"

"You'll also have to buy me dinner."

Rhys smiled. "Is that all?"

Sasha shrugged. "Let's see how I feel."

"That's fine with me."

Timothy grinned. “Alright, we all good here? ‘Cause there’s a psychopath on the loose and we got a couple of bullets with his name on it.”

Sasha looked to Timothy. "Make it an arsenal."

* * *

Handsome Jack’s fiancée is not the person you think of when you think “possible partner”, Zane Flynt included. Yet, here he was, asking anyone and everyone if they’ve seen Rose, hopping from clue to clue, hoping he could find her.

Moxxi had told him Rose had called the night before and it sounded like she was leaving for something. He was hoping she didn’t do what he thinks she did, but with the information he has, he fears the worst.

_"Oh, I don't know. You could spend a couple thousand for a nice, pale mask. I'm sure Rose would love it."_

_"Face it. She'd leave you in a heartbeat if he was back."_

_“You probably reminded her of Jack and that held her over for a while ‘til she found the literal Jackpot.”_

Zane shook his head. There’s no way she went back to Jack of all people to re-initiate that mess. Moxxi had said that someone at Hyperion was threatening the Sirens and Zane could only assume it was him.

With this information, he’s assuming Rose went after Jack more as a way to take him out like she should have. Which, Zane cannot deny, the visual alone is one that makes his heart flutter, but it’s still unbelievably stupid. He hopes she’s okay.

His comm link buzzed. "Sugar?"

"Yeah, Moxx?"

"Where are your coordinates?"

“Uh, 51.5, 50.3. Why?”

“I’m tired of standing around. I’m going to do something about all of this.”

“Woah, woah, lass ya should stay on Sanctuary if not to make sure everyone's okay-”

“The B Team has a handle on it. I’m comin’ with whether you like it or not.”

“Moxxi-” in an instant Moxxi had appeared beside Zane, no longer in her working uniform which gave Zane pause.

“Quit gawkin’-!” Moxxi corrected herself. “While I am used to people in awestruck, it’s wasting daylight. So, are you just going to stand there and stare like a dimwit or are we going to find Rose?”

"Ah- find Rose, o' course."

“Good. Then let’s get a move on.” Zane slowly turned as she walked past him, going with purpose. “I know that you must be surprised that I actually came down rather than hiring someone, but seeing the Crimson Raiders’ best and the B Team lost track of her all the while Handsome Jack is in power I decided this was a matter I needed to take into my own hands.”

“I’m more surprised to see you outside o’ the outfit- not that that’s a bad look! It’s a good one. Better even.”

Moxxi scoffed. “Don’t flatter me. I’m only in this because rescue missions aren’t exactly achievable in a corset.” After a quick scan of the area Moxxi tugged down on the lid of her cap. “If you tell anyone about this it’ll be your head in a shallow grave.”

". . . And me body?"

"With Jack's once we're done with him."

Zane looked at Moxxi fearfully. “Noted.” A moment passed where Zane was actually silent. “Ye know where you’re goin’?”

“I gave all the Vault Hunters at some point a safe fast travel account after Handsome Jack died. I believe the person that used it last night was Rose, but I can’t quite see the destination, it’s blocked. So, we’re going to the nearest hardware store for some tools we’ll need to track the destination.”

Zane was impressed. “I would not have thought of that.”

“I got more experience than a few tinker toys,” Moxxi said with a small smile.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I helped ya with some repairs from time to time? For y’know, practice.”

“As long as Rose comes with.” Zane’s heart skipped a beat. All the more reason to find her. There was a long silence as the two trudged through Eden-6. “What really happened on Pandora?”

Zane feigned surprise. "Ehm, what?"

“I’m not stupid. The Vault Hunters refused to go into detail, including you and Rose. I call her up in the middle of the night hearing that Rose was kidnapped by some sort of Hyperion employee who was threatening the Sirens and Handsome Jack appeared the next day.”

"Well. . ."

“Think better than lying to me again. Rose is in danger and the next words from your mouth could determine if we ever find her again.” She was right. To keep the truth from her could mean the more time it’d take to find Rose. And how pissed she’ll be when she finally finds out.

“Well. . . I hardly know most o’ it meself, but here’s what I do know. One day, I get a call from Rose. . . .”

* * *

"He's what?!" Ava exclaimed.

Amara hushed her. "You don't want anyone to overhear."

"But-but how is he back? I thought Lilith killed him."

“She did,” Tannis said. “But under some unknown circumstances, he’s back.”

“Why the hell are we here for then?! We gotta go back! We’re Sirens!”

"That's exactly why we're staying put, Ava," Amara said firmly.

“While Handsome Jack being back is no laughing matter, Amara’s right. If he were to get ahold on one of us there’s no doubt that our lives will not be the only ones in danger.”

"But can't we do something?" Ava insisted.

“The best that we can do right now is to stay put and get more information on this situation.”

Ava slumped. “What good am I as a Siren if I can’t help people?”

Amara frowned slightly. “I know things are tough right now, Ava and trust me this is not the ideal situation for any of us. I would much rather be storming Hyperion and knocking Handsome Jack’s jaw out of place, but if we really want to help people and not rely on our anger then laying low is the best we can do.”

Ava looked on sadly. “I guess. But why do we have to hide out at Maya’s old place?” she asked, a photo of said Siren on the wall, her smile mocking Ava.

“It was the one place that could hide three Sirens in plain sight while also being an adequate space for my research. Again, not ideal, but it’s the best we can manage.”

Ava turned to Amara, worried. "How long are we going to stay here?"

"Until it's safe."

"Wha-what about food and water?"

“Me and Amara both had scraped together some rations that should prolong us from having to go outside for a while.”

"What about Sanctuary?"

“Mordecai, Brick, and Tina agreed to hold down the fort until this all blows over.”

“This is Hyperion we’re talking about! Three people isn’t going to be enough!”

“But we are?” Amara asked, quieting Ava’s protests. “Ava, on our own, we’re just as strong as the rest of the Vault Hunters. Unless we have an abundance of Eridium lying around.”

“And are willing to take the risk of becoming addicted to Eridium.”

Amara placed a hand on Ava’s shoulder, smiling assuringly. “Everything’s going to be fine, Ava. We just have to wait it out for a little while.”

“And if everything's not fine, we’ll only be an ECHO away!” Tannis said in assurance.

Ava managed a small smile. “We’re still going to kill Handsome Jack though, right?”

The two elder Sirens thought this over. “I can give you his organs after I’m finished with his autopsy,” Tannis said.

"I'll take it!"

* * *

The sun was dipping behind the Pandoran horizon, the sunset casting Jack’s office in a warm glow. It almost made the place feel like home. Almost.

Rose had spent the day hiding around Jack’s office, refusing to let her existence be known here. If word gets out there’s no doubt the Vault Hunters will come running in to take her back and she really couldn’t let them do that. Not this early at the very least.

Jack was looking out his window, his hands behind his back, a chilling silhouette. “You remember when I first took you down to this shithole?”

Rose looked up from the book in her hand briefly. “It was the first and last time I saw rain on Pandora.”

"I had never seen you so happy before."

"It's hard to be happy in this world," she said neutrally.

“Well, I know I can’t speak for both of us, but I was pretty damn happy when you were around.”

“But, you never were satisfied with just being happy. You always had to find a new extreme to be sated even if it was just a short while.”

He shrugged. “I had a lot of things I wanted to do in a short time. Places to save, people to kill.”

“Yeah, not sure you can say that in the same sentence.”

Jack peered over his shoulder, a smile on his face. “Just did.”

Rose looked at him for a long moment before responding. “You’re bleeding on Timothy’s face.”

“What?” He turned to the window, seeing a slow trickle from his nose making its way down to his lip. “Shit. Make sure the door’s locked.” He unclasped the mask, placing it on his desk.

Rose rolled her eyes as she got up to double check the door. “Everyone’s seen you unmasked before. The Raiders spread that photo like the plague on the ECHOnet.”

“Then I’ll get that new secretary. . . I dunno, James? Jimmy? Jimbo?”

"Fredrick."

"Jimbo. I’ll get him to call up Pesticide to erase the photo and then kill anyone who viewed it and their families. Easy-peasy."

“Are you really so self-conscious you are willing to kill people because of a bad photo?” Jack set Timothy’s mask onto his desk before grabbing some tissues.

"I'm Handsome Jack, baby. I'm not self-conscious."

“Then why go to this extent?” Jack tilted his head back before sitting himself down.

“It’s all for the aesthetic, babe. I could’ve used any damn surgeon to fix my face, but I wanted a mask of my own face.” He picked up Timothy’s mask, smiling. “A handsome fella, wouldn’t you say, Rosebud?” He turned the mask toward her.

"Looks like a shell of a man."

Jack leaned back in his chair, groaning. “Do you need to make everything a psychological insult?”

"For you? Yeah, I think so."

Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “You know, if you’re so fed up with me the door’s right there. I know the Sirens aren’t on Sanctuary and I’m assuming you lied about where you were going or didn’t tell anyone out of shame, am I right?”

"It wasn't out of shame."

"But everything else is correct?"

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek. "Correct."

"Then leave if you're so miserable."

"You'll only come after me."

"Sure, I will. But isn't your whole thing to not let me win or. . . something?"

“You won when you stepped out of that pod. I’m just trying to clean up the mess.”

“So, you staying here while your bandits inevitably go after you, that's cleaning the mess up?” Jack grinned as Rose went silent. “Alright. What’s the deal, Rosebud? Why’d you really come here? Get all those insults you had bouncin’ ‘round in your head out? Rub in my face how much I fucked up?”

Rose let out a small breath, crossing her arms. “For over seven years I have been going through all of this bullshit you left behind. Anger, above all. Hatred, another fan favorite. Fear of if you ever came back or Hyperion coming to take me back to either execute me or put me in your position.

"Devastation and grief at the bottom of it all. I’ve taken it out on bandits, psychos, whatever Pandora would throw at me, but it still lingered. Eventually, I learned to just live with it, keeping it for the nightmares I’ll wake up crying about alone at night. Then you come back and. . . everything I’ve ever been scared of has come true. But, I’ve already let fear control me. It’s not going to happen again.”

Jack looked on thoughtfully. “So, your bandit friends coming to save you and me killing them, that doesn’t scare you? Not even a little?”

“Of course it does. But I know they can handle it.”

"And what makes you think that?"

"They've come this far, haven't they?"


	18. Night Time Whispers

Mad Moxxi isn’t a person you’d imagine to find on such a dreary place like Eden-6 unless she’s hosting at a cozy little bar or perhaps finding a new place for her corporations. You’d definitely wouldn’t imagine her either in overalls hunched over a Fast Travel station, her hands stained with dirt and grime while she asks for tools from a Vault Hunter of all people.

It’s quite an odd sight to see. Such an odd sight you may be tempted to actually walk out in the dead of night just to see it. But I’d highly advise not to. There’s a reason why people who go out at night on Eden-6 are either psychos or Vault Hunters. . . or dead.

“How’s it comin’, lass?” Moxxi sighed before leaning back to stretch her back. An unpleasant crack greeted her.

“Well,” She took a rag from her pocket and wiped at her hands, turning to face Zane, “I can see that she went somewhere onto Pandora, but the specific pinpoint needs a passcode to even know where it is.”

Zane's features twisted into confusion. "What location needs a bloody passcode to get to it?"

“That’s what I’ve been wondering. You and Rose know a place that’s at all like that?”

“Nah. If it’s on Pandora you’d probably find some trails we took to the Great Vault and a couple o’ bars not much else.”

Moxxi sighed. “I knew I should’ve stayed in touch with her. If I did we might know where she actually is,” she said in defeat as she sat down on the toolbox.

Zane plopped down next to her on the ground. “Don’t beat yerself up ‘bout it-"

"No. No! Jack came back and she couldn't bring herself to even tell me!"

"She didn't want ya to worry."

Moxxi scoffed. "Mission accomplished," she said sarcastically. The two shared a short silence. "I really should've known after I called her before she went missing."

Zane raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

“I could hear him on the line with her. I brushed it off as Timothy, but. . . the way that he spoke. . . I should’ve known.”

“If it makes ya feel any better I thought he was Tim too.”

Moxxi took in a breath before she turned to the Operative. “How could you all keep this from us for this long? Did you think there wouldn’t be any consequences?”

“O’ course I did! But, I knew if I blabbed they’d blame Rose, not me. And that ain’t fair, we both know it.”

"You could've told me."

"And you would've understood?"

"I would try." The two went quiet for a moment, the soft croaking of Saurians being the only noise that filled the space. “You’re not the only one that loves her, you know.”

“I know. But am I the only one that’ll take secrets to the grave for her?”

“That is what we’re doing, isn’t it?” Zane looked to Moxxi and the corner of his lip twitched upward.

"S'ppose it is."

Another pause. “Do you think this’ll actually work out?” Moxxi asked, jabbing her thumb toward the Fast Travel.

"The Fast Travel or findin' Rose?"

"Both."

“I think the Fast Travel will work, but her? She’s a wiley lass, knows how to cover things up if she doesn’t want to be found.”

"You think she doesn't want to be found?"

“If this thing is as big as we think it is, she’s gonna want us to stay safe and stay on the sidelines.”

"But obviously that's not gonna happen."

“God no. I’ll dive in headfirst into a bandit camp armed with running buzz axes if I have to.” 

Moxxi smirked. "Like you don't do that already."

The mechanics laughed and it felt like everything was normal again, but we all know that feeling never truly lasts.

* * *

Rose rested peacefully upon Zane’s shoulder until he began nudging her awake. “Lass. Lass. It’s time to go.”

“Come on, sugar, everyone’s waiting for us.” Rose slowly opened her eyes and smiled softly at the sight of her partners. “Come on, honey. We’ll lead the way.” Moxxi took Rose’s hand, helping her up onto her feet while Zane kept his hand firm on her shoulder.

The two began walking away while Rose stayed planted. “C’mon, love, we don’t want to be late!” Zane called.

Smiling, Rose went to follow, only finding that something was holding her back. She looked, seeing Jack lying down, holding onto her hand tight. 

She pulled at her hand, glaring. "Let me go."

Jack smiled, sitting up. "You first, princess."

“Rose, what are ya doin’?” Rose looked back to Zane and Moxxi, they were just beyond her reach. She continued to pull at her hand, trying to let go of Jack. “Let ‘im go.”

"Let go of him, Rose."

“Let go of me, Rosebud.” They all began to chant while Rose yanked at her arm, desperately trying to get free.

"Let 'im go!"

"Let him go!"

"You gotta let me go sometime, cupcake."

"Let him go!"

"Let 'im go!"

"Let me go!" Rose cried.

“I’m not the one that’s hanging on.” Rose dug her feet into the ground, pulling with all her might. “You’re gonna get yourself hurt, Rosebud.” Rose ignored Jack’s warning and just kept pulling all the while Zane and Moxxi continued to beg her to let go. Rose screamed.

Her hand came off.

* * *

Rose jolted awake, grasping her hand, her stomach dropping upon finding she had no feeling in it. She looked down. . . and remembered she still had her prosthetic on. Rose collapsed against the couch, her rapidly beating heart beginning to slow down.

She sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for a dreamless sleep.” She scratched at the gaps in between the joints of her prosthetic, staring up at the ceiling of Jack’s apartment. She didn’t like how she could still recognize the same patterns in the paint.

The sound of his footsteps caused Rose to turn her attention to the hallway, he flicked on the light switch. “You look like you just chewed an Everlasting Gobstopper for too long.” Rose wasn’t too far off.

Jack was turning a violent violet around the nose. “Lucky for you I can pull off purple.” Jack moved to his liquor cabinet that surprisingly seemed untouched. “Why are you up?”

"Your apartment is not exactly comforting place."

"Never heard you complain about it before."

"I was either drunk or ready to pass out."

"Or focusing on much more important things."

Rose ignored his implication. “Speaking of focusing on important things, how about an actually good plan for this supposed War?”

Jack leaned back onto his counter, a glass of scotch in his hand. “I already told you it. I find your Siren, use her for a buffer along with the kickass weapons I’ve got in the works while we hop over to Junpai-7, buy out their liquor, and see what they have hookers-wise these days.”

“Jack, if this army is as big as you’re saying it is we won’t even make it off of Pandora. They’re going to find us.”

"But we have time, sweetheart."

Rose shook her head. “Okay, let’s say we do make it off of Pandora and you’re drowning yourself in hookers and booze and you’re just. . . going to leave everyone behind to fend for themselves? Men, women, children-”

“Vault Hunters, baby, they’ve literally had it a long time coming.”

“ _We’re_ Vault Hunters, dumbass! Don’t try to pretend we’re not because we haven’t dedicated our whole lives to it! I helped you open the Vault on Elpis, I opened _four_ Vaults in your absence along with the Great Vault which I could only imagine how pissed those aliens are about that one. We are Vault Hunters and probably the higher tier ones going off of the amount we’ve opened. We are just as guilty as the Raiders if not more.”

That seemed to have finally struck a nerve in Jack. “We are not like those bandits-”

“Yes! We are, Jack! You may be a little bit more bloodthirsty, but really? What stands in between you and Lilith?”

"Rosebud-"

“Do not tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about because I do.” Jack was squeezing his glass perhaps too tight. “Jack, I’m not going to deny it, you’ve been through some fucked up things, but so has everyone else and they have _never_ resorted to genocide.” Rose pulled the covers off from her, getting up from the couch. “This is your chance to redeem yourself and be the hero you’ve always talked about.”

"And how would I go about doing that, Rosebud?"

“By getting your head out of your fucking ass and taking some initiative! You are head of motherfucking Hyperion right now and you are using it to take the coward’s way out.”

"It's not."

"It is."

Jack set aside his glass, taking a step forward. “I’m just trying to protect you."

"I don't want your protection!"

“I have already lost you!” Jack shouted, taking Rose off guard. “Don’t. . .” he paused, correcting the crack in his voice. “Please, don’t leave me again.”

Rose let out a small sigh, looking to the scarred man with what appeared to be pity. “You are not going to be able to control that, Jack. You can boss around as many lackeys as you want, you can call up Pesticide however many times you like, you can grab any Siren you want and wire them into your systems, but you can’t control me. I may live, I may die, I may leave, I may not, but that’s not on your terms.” Jack didn’t say anything. Rose took in a deep breath. “Where’s your first aid kit? That bruise is just. . . really gross.”

* * *

"Sasha," Rhys called out.

Sasha turned over onto her side, facing the CEO who was lying face down on the bed. “Yeah?”

"If I threw myself off a cliff would you be mad at me?"

"No."

Rhys turned to her. "Really?"

Sasha smirked. “Yeah, because you’re terrified of heights.”

Rhys resumed his face-down position, groaning. “You’re right. Maybe I could throw a toaster in the bathtub?”

Sasha's expression immediately soured. "Don't talk like that," she said firmly.

Rhys turned his head slightly, an eye peeking out. "Sorry." After a moment, Sasha began to run her hand through Rhys's hair comfortingly. 

"You messed up, Rhys. Big time," she said softly. "But, thankfully you have a support team with me on it. We'll be able to work this out."

Rhys sighed before turning his head toward Sasha completely. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this.”

“Honestly? I think I’d be more mad if you would left me out of this. A silver lining to you being dumb is that I finally have to the chance to kill Handsome Jack again.”

"Yeah, get in line."

“Trust me, I’ve been camping out and by the looks of it with Tim’s help Jack will be some bandit’s skin pizza in no time.”

Rhys gagged at the mere mention of skin pizza. “Ugh, I thought we said we weren’t going to bring up skin pizzas.”

“That promise was revoked when you kept that AI without telling anyone.” Rhys, frowned slightly, looking down. Sasha placed her hand on his cheek, causing him to look back up at her. “I’m not mad, I just want to know. . . why did you keep it?”

Rhys contemplated his words for a moment before turning onto his back, folding his hands upon his stomach. “I remember standing in the ruins of Helios, armless, seeing out of one eye and just having that implant to show for it. I could. . . I could still hear him begging for his life and I just. . . couldn’t handle it. So many people had died that day. Good, bad, in-between. I didn’t want to be responsible for another one, especially one I could save.”

"Even Handsome Jack?"

“He was human too. And some people on Helios definitely were no more guilty than him, if not more.”

"People would literally kill to kill Handsome Jack."

“He was my hero, whether I like it or not. I looked up to him and even after all the shit he pulled I still found myself looking up at him. I kept that implant as a reminder to be better than he was. Remake a corporation not through blood. Have it be successful. Actually save people and not just kill people and call it saving. And. . . maybe even rewrite his code someday, give him a place as an attack drone.”

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "An attack drone?"

“It’s what he would’ve wanted. That or be turned into a gun. Which if Timothy wasn’t pulling my leg, that might’ve actually happened.”

Sasha smiled and Rhys couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

“Moze.” There was Amara just in the field of the Gunner’s vision.

"Amara? Is something wrong?"

“No, I just wanted to talk to you. It’s. . . strange being in Maya’s old place.”

“Shit, you guys didn’t tell me you were going over to Maya’s.”

“It was Tannis’s idea, wasn’t a bad one, but it’s not exactly pleasant. I can still feel her presence. . . lingering here.”

“What do you think she’d do if she was still around?”

Amara smiled slightly. “Probably the same thing we’re doing.”

“You think she’d be proud of us even after. . . all that’s happened?”

Amara paused. “We couldn’t have known this would happen.”

"Zane did."

"Zane only knew part of the story."

"And refused to tell us until it was too late."

“Moze, we’ve all taken our side. What Zane did was. . . irrational, but nevertheless, he’s still with us.”

"And what about Rose?"

“Honestly? I can’t get a read on her. She hates Jack and I think she’s proved that more than once, but she’s still defending him. I just. . . Moze, are you still on Sanctuary?”

"What?"

“You know, a floating refuge I was hoping you’d stay on.”

“Uh, Amara, I think you’re breaking up.”

“Moze, I’m speaking to you telepathically how could I be-” Moze continued to make crashing sounds with her mouth, hoping Amara would hang up, but obviously, the Siren isn’t an idiot. “I know you are not making break up sounds to try and get me to leave.”

"I'm-I'm not! I-"

Amara sighed. “Fine, if you want me to leave, I will, this is a drain on my powers anyway. But we’re going to have to talk when I wake up.”

Moze frowned. “Amara-”

“Goodbye, Moze.” Amara left and Moze felt like an asshole.

“I told you she wouldn’t like this,” FL4K reminded.

“And I told you I know she wouldn’t like this.” Moze exclaimed as she began to input an order for their Catch-A-Ride. “But we have to do something. We can’t just let Rose get away with this again.”

“And you are sure this is entirely her intent? Though the evidence is rather incriminating there is a possibility we could be misinterpreting the entire situation.”

“Trust me, FL4K.” The Technical spawned and the Gunner hopped in. “I know a soldier going AWOL when I see it.”

* * *

“What was your nightmare about?” Jack asked suddenly.

Rose took away the ice pack momentarily, looking him in his one good eye. “Who said I had a nightmare?”

“I could hear you mumbling from the other room. You only mumble when you’re having a nightmare.” Rose set the ice pack back down.

"You don't get to know about my nightmares."

Jack sighed. “Okay, I need a reference here. You’re sitting in a bathroom with your supposed worst fear and you’re holding the friggin’ ice pack for me. What level of asshole am I at right now?”

“You’re nowhere near a friend if that’s what you’re wondering.”

"Do I ever get to be your friend again?"

“You’ve killed hundreds with no remorse and now you’re leaving my friends to die and you expect me to be friends with you?”

"Friends? They were holding you at gun point, Rosebud."

“That’s a Pandoran greeting, Jack. Though, what would you know about that? You never bothered to learn about my shithole of a home.”

Jack paused before grabbing the ice pack from Rose and taking it away from his face. “You told me you grew up on Eden-5.”

“I knew how much you hated Pandora, so to impress you I said Eden-5 then after that I kept up the lie.”

"For five years?"

Rose’s eyes widened. “Are you really making a big deal of me lying about my home planet?”

"For five years? Who keeps a secret like that for five years?"

“How come I only found out about Angel after she had died?” That silenced Jack. “Why keep her from me, Jack? Why?”

"When I remarried I showed her Angel and. . . she didn't take it too lightly."

“So since the woman before me had that reaction I was bound to have the same one?”

“No, but I’d thought that maybe after we got hitched I’d show you Angel and see how you felt. Obviously it never came to that.”

“You should have told me from the beginning.”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘The name’s Jack, I’m a Hyperion programmer, I like long walks on the beach, and I have a Siren daughter that killed my first wife’?”

“You could’ve told me you had a daughter at the very least.”

“And how would you react when I actually showed her to you?”

“I’d think you were a fucking monster and try to get that poor girl out.”

"She was safe."

“She was your slave!” Rose shouted, her voice echoing off of the bathroom walls. “Instead of getting her the mental and physical help she needed you used her lack of control over her powers as a justification to keep her locked up and have her work for you until she died! And that wasn’t the Crimson Raiders fault or the bandits fault or anybody else’s fault but yours, Jack.”

“I did what I had to make her world a safer place.”

"She didn't have a world! She had a prison!"

"What would you know?! You never knew her!"

“And every day I regret that! Every day I think of the time I wasted with you and all that time she was strapped to that chair forced to do your fucking dirty work!”

“You think I don’t regret it?!” Jack suddenly exclaimed. “You think there’s a day that goes by where I don’t regret putting her through what I did?”

"You could have done something about it."

Gradually, Jack calmed down. “I know. But I didn’t. It’s all in the past now anyway.”

Rose guffawed. “Yeah, we both know that saying is bullshit by now.”

"I did what I thought was right-"

“And it blew up in your fucking face.” Rose stood, going to exit the bathroom. “Accept that.” With that, she left.


	19. In the Sunlight

"I don't like this," Brick said. "All this waitin' around is making me antsy. I need something to punch."

"You're not the only one, amigo, we're all on edge," Mordecai said.

"We should be out there with the rest of the Vault Hunters!"

"We _need_ to stay on Sanctuary and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"And let Handsome Jack kill our friends?"

Mordecai placed a hand on Brick’s shoulder comfortingly. “They’ll be fine, Brick. They always are. For now, we gotta man the fort and try to stay calm.”

"Aren't you angry?"

“El cariño, I’m pissed. I’d love nothing more than to go down to Opportunity and show Jack what for, but we made a promise when we joined the Raiders that we would protect them if they ever needed us. And right now, they need us.”

Brick considered this for a moment. “What are we going to do about Tina?”

“She’s a big girl now, I’m sure she’ll find a way to not blow up the ship with us on it.” Mordecai smiled. “And if I remember right I think there’s a target of Handsome Jack downstairs. Wanna grab some drinks and test out the new guns Moxxi gave us?”

"It won't be the same."

“I can probably get FL4K and Moze in on it,” Mordecai offered.

After a moment, Brick nodded. "Yeah, okay."

“That’s the spirit, amigo, come on.” The duo walked down to the living quarters of the Vault Hunters where Mordecai knocked on FL4K’s door, knowing that’s where the newbies come to hang out when they’re not out and about. “Hey, FL4K? Me and Brick are going down to shooting range, wanna come with?” No answer.

Mordecai raised an eyebrow, turning to Brick. Brick shrugged. Mordecai knocked again. “Amigos? Are you in there?” Silence. “Huh.” Mordecai then went by each of the Vault Hunters’ rooms, knocking, each and every time receiving no answer. He turned to Brick. “Maybe they’re out in the ship somewhere.”

“Wanna go ask Zer0? He usually knows where people are. . . somehow.”

“Yeah, sure, we might bump into them on the way there anyway.” Mordecai and Brick were about to walk down to Ellie’s when Tina dropped down from the second floor.

"Have y'all seen FL4K? It is the utmost importenc-y of urgencies."

"We were just about to ask around, why?"

“I forgot to set up a puppy playdate with Chewy and Enrique with them and poor shnoogle-butt needs a friend!”

“Alright, alright, Tina, just calm down. We’re going to ask Zer0 if he’s seen them. How about you. . . just hang out with Maurice until we get back?”

Tina sniffed dramatically. “Please hurry back.”

Brick ruffled the top of Tina’s head. “It’ll be alright, tiny.” With that, the two pushed forward, going to visit the assassin mulling over bounties. “Hey, Zer0!”

_Zer0. . . 1010100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111_

turned and sent a grinning emoji. “Ah, Brick, Mordecai / an unexpected surprise / but very welcome. What has brought you here? / Are we putting Jack back down? / I am all for it >:).”

“No, we were just wondering if you’ve seen any of the shinies around here?” Mordecai asked.

“Shinies? Very odd. / Is that what we’re calling them? / I don’t like it much.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Brick said.

Mordecai ignored them. “Do you know where they are or not?”

“I saw Moze and FL4K / I think they went around back.” Red, print letters displayed on Zer0’s face, saying Fast Travel. “Haven’t seen them since.”

Mordecai raised an eyebrow. “They didn’t. . . say anything about going after someone, did they?”

“I do not think so / but, they did seem murderous / though, they always do.”

“Oh, that can’t be good. Brick, go get them on ECHO, I’ll try to track them.”

“Why do you always get the tracking?” Brick complained.

"Do you know how to do it?"

Brick crossed his arms. “. . . No, but it’d be nice to change things up.”

"Go get them on ECHO, amigo."

“Alright. But, I won’t be happy about it.”

* * *

“Never thought you’d be able to live without wearing that worn-out sweater,” Rose said as Jack tucked in a newly bought sweatshirt.

“Well considering Baby Llama undressed me I think I wouldn’t have wanted it back.”

"It's Nakayama," Rose corrected.

"What did I say?"

She waved her hand dismissively. “You wouldn’t care anyway. The man only saved your life after all.”

"And was extraordinarily creepy."

“Yeah, but because of an extremely creepy guy, you’re alive.”

“Aw, give yourself some credit, Rosebud. I’d still be in that gun if it wasn’t for you.”

“Don’t remind me.” Jack finished fiddling with his collar and slipped on his mask carefully, struggling to get the clasps clicked in.

“Goddamnit, Timmy, I told you to take care of the clamps,” he muttered.

"Having trouble?"

"Tim's clamps are rusted."

“Can’t blame him. He had to hide his face in a casino for seven years and had no access to your security. Beauty products must’ve been slim.”

“Take a break from pointing out all of my mistakes and help me with my mask, will you?”

“Fine, if that will get you out of here.” Rose walked over to Jack and helped put on the clasps.

He hissed. "Easy on the pressure there, babe."

“We wouldn’t have to do this if you just did the normal thing and went around maskless.”

“Gotta stay on brand, Rosebud.” Rose clipped on the two clasps near his temple and went onto the chin.

“You’re Mr. Hyperion, you make your own brand. If you went around maskless maybe people won’t think you’re a pretentious ass.”

Jack smiled. “That’s what I am though, right, Rosebud?” Rose glanced up to look him in the eyes.

“That’s something we can agree on,” she said, fighting the smile forcing the way onto her lips.

"You're smiling."

"I am not."

“I can see you fighting those dimples, Rosie, you wanna smile.” Rose cut the conversation short by finishing the last clasp, unknowingly clipping her metallic thumb while doing so.

“Oh, shit!” she cursed softly, getting a look at the chipped steel. “What the hell are those clamps made out of?”

“Something stronger than steel obviously. . . shit, Rose, how long have you been scratching at that prosthetic?” Rose jerked her hand away as Jack reached out for it. “Rose, do you really think I’m going to hurt you?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that I don’t want you touching me.”

"Just let me have a look at it-"

"I'm good, thanks."

Jack glanced at what he could see of Rose’s hand. “I’m ordering you a new prosthetic,” he said definitively.

"I won't take it."

“So you’re really going to take a crappy, scratched up cheap prosthetic over the finest I can find?”

"Yes. I want nothing you offer."

“Listen, I get not wanting to work with Hyperion anymore since you have all sorts of emotional baggage with it, I could maybe get not taking my money, but Rosebud, this is your friggin’ hand. You kinda need it.”

"Mine works fine."

“It won’t if you keep scratching at it. I got some specially engineered ones for people who have phantom pains or. . . whatever it is you’re dealing with.”

“I don’t need your help, Jack. If I wanted something like that, I’d get it.”

Jack stared at Rose for a short moment. “I’m ordering one anyway. When it shows up, do what you will with it.” He went over to the door to exit, now having all he needed. “You sure you don’t wanna come with? You hate my apartment.”

"I hate you more."

Jack smiled once again. "Not as much as I hate you, babe. If anyone knocks on the door, just use the turret."

"Don't count on it."

“See you tonight, Rose.” Jack left, but the weight did not lift from Rose’s shoulders. She went to raid his liquor cabinet.

* * *

"It can't be Opportunity, can it?" Zane asked.

“It’s the only place it seems to make sense,” Moxxi said. “No other place in the Dust would’ve been closed off like that.”

Zane sighed as he punched in the coordinates for the nearest Catch-a-Ride in the Dust. “Christ, what did she get into?”

“Knowing Rose? I think she went after him to try to redeem herself.”

"To who? She knows she's got us, right?"

“Zane, if she went back to the Vault Hunters after Jack’s return it would’ve been us against Sanctuary.”

Zane sighed. “I know. I wish it wasn’t like that, though. They oughta know she wants nothing to do wit’ him.”

“She stayed with Jack post-mask and resurrected him behind everyone’s back, convincing people she still wouldn’t fight for him is like trying to leash a wild Skag.”

“I feel that’s all the more reason to believe her. She knows things most aren’t s’posed to and she’s learned from it.”

"We can hope she has anyway."

"What? Ya don't have faith in 'er?"

“I’m offended you even asked that question. Of course I have faith in her, but you know how she is. Once she has her eyes set on something, she goes after it, no matter what that might mean for her along the way.”

“Yeah. S’pose so.” Zane went to enter the coordinates, but faltered. 

"What's the matter?"

Zane chewed the inside of his cheek. “Y’know that feelin’ ya get in your gut right before somethin’ big is ‘bout to happen? Like the top of a rollercoaster?”

"Yeah?"

“I always have that feelin’, constantly, but this. . . this is different. Usually, the anticipation peaks and you drop back down, feelin’ better. But. . . there hasn’t been a peak in any o’ this. . . . What if there’s no peak, Moxxi? What if this never ends? What if we get down there and we realize that this is just the beginnin’?”

Moxxi placed her hand atop of Zane’s, smiling. “Well, we’ll just have to find out together, won’t we?”

Zane smiled softly. “Yeah, together.” Together, they pressed enter and with a flash of light, they were gone. The two reappeared in the Dust near one of the old Catch-a-Rides. 

Moxxi placed a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “I’m going to slip into something a little less. . . comfortable. You get to work on finding Rose. If you happen to find her, I want you to call me immediately, I’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Moxxi grinned before walking over to the Catch-a-Ride.

“Well hey there, pretty lady, whatchu doin’ in a place like this? Just kiddin’, I know it’s you mama,” a pre-recorded message greeted.

“Hi, Scooter,” Moxxi said back fondly, patting the pole of the large sign before disappearing into the Catch-a-Ride to get changed.

Zane took this opportunity to summon his clone and get him to work. “Go on, scope the area and don’t come back until you find Rose, you got that?” His clone saluted. “Atta lad, go get ‘er.” His clone ran out into the desert in search for Rose. “Hate to see ‘em go. . .” Zane joked to himself before surveying the horizon.

In his search he happened upon quite an obnoxious advertisement that he was honestly surprised he didn’t notice until now. _Jack’s Back and He’s Here to Stay!_

“Well, that was fast.” Say all you like about Hyperion, the amount of time they take to produce quality products is something to be respected. . . . Well, fear may be the better word considering they probably pump out content so fast because they’ve been threatened that their eyeballs might be fed to their grandmother or something.

. . . Zane hoped Rose was okay.

* * *

“Timothy, you don’t have to do this, I can get some men onto Pandora for you if that’s what you need,” Rhys attempted to negotiate.

“Nope. I’ve made up my mind, Rhys. I’m going to find her myself. You hold down the fort here, I’m sure Jack isn’t going to go easy on us just because we resurrected him.” Timothy pulled his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Then let me call some guards or something-"

"Rhys, if I survived Elpis and the Jackpot, I can survive this."

"Are you sure?"

“. . . Well, no, but it makes me feel better.”

“Tim, if you’re unsure there’s no shame in staying put, we’ll find Rose eventually.”

“But, I want to do this, Rhys. Everyone’s turned their backs on her and I have to find her before the Crimson Raiders do. ‘Cause believe it or not they’re friggin’ pissed about Rose going AWOL after Jack came back.”

Rhys sighed. “Tim, listen, I know Rose is important to you and all, but. . .”

Timothy raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

“She’s the one that started all of this.” Timothy went quiet. “Sure, she got you some fancy surgery to get your mask removed and that’s great, but she brought back the dude that literally made our lives a living hell.”

“She didn’t know, Rhys. None of us did.”

“And how would you know? Did she ever give any of us clean and concise truths?”

“Have you?” Rhys was taken aback. “Tell me how I had to find out about you and the AI first hand?”

Rhys furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“We plugged in the AI into my laptop to show us where to go. And though, I may be an idiot, I can put two and two together, Rhys. The facts are, you had the AI in an old ECHO Eye, it knew who you were and was pissed at you, and you hid all of this for years, not because you were scared of what would happen if people knew about, you were scared if they found out you were working with it.”

Rhys looked down, ashamed. “I. . . I didn’t know his. . . intentions. He kept everything from me. By the time I found out, it was all too late.”

Timothy placed a hand on Rhys’s shoulder. “You’re not alone, bro. I can’t tell you all the things Jack made me do, literally, there were a lot of legal contracts. And Rose has her own scars too, just like us.” Timothy motioned to Rhys’s prosthetic with his own. “Things may look bad now, but I’m sure once I find her it’ll clear up. . . for the most part.”

“Do you. . . really believe that or is that just something to make you feel better?”

Timothy thought about this for a moment. “Both?”

Rhys smiled slightly, patting Tim’s arm. “You do know if you’re gone for another week it’ll no longer be a paid vacation, right?”

Tim sighed softly. “Yeah, I know, but just this once, I’m going to stop thinking about money. . . until inevitably I have the nightmare of my professors with baseball bats coming to bust my kneecaps for not paying off my student loans.”

Rhys’s smile turned into a grimace. “You sure you don’t want to just hit up Atlas’s counselor before you head out?”

“No, I’ll just settle with ECHOnet appointments. I’ll try to do my weekly from Pandora.”

"Alright, just. . . call me if there's any trouble this time."

Timothy braved a smile. “I’ll try.” Timothy pulled Rhys in for a hug and patted his back.

"You be safe, bro."

"You too, bro."

* * *

Rose laid on the couch, her unfinished Irish coffee sitting cold on top of the coffee table, staring up at the ceiling, seeing the old patterns in the paint.

Her head was still stirring, thoughts of war and horror racing through her head. She had tried to calm it with alcohol, but she learned how strong Jack’s collection was. She had tried to distract herself, but it’s hard to hide from that when you’re surrounded by reminders.

She put an arm over her eyes, hoping that will block everything out. That was when her ECHO began to ring, causing her to groan. She pulled it out of her bag and saw that Jack was calling her. Knowing he'd just keep calling back until she answered, she pressed call.

“You still alive or have you drunk yourself to death?”

"If only I was so lucky. Why are you calling?"

“Well, I put my Eridium experts to work while I’m assuming you were drinking the equivalent of rubbing alcohol. They found the old Eridium mine that I was planning to excavate when the main supply ran low. Hasn’t been touched yet, but they’re tracing shit tons of Eridium in it.”

“Great. And what are you planning to do with all of that Eridium with no Sirens to do your dirty work?”

“I do my research, Rosebud. I know Lilith, and the. . . new one aren’t the only Sirens in existence, I mean, obviously, I knew that before I even took over Hyperion. I did a quick search and found out about Tannis and Maya’s old apprentice or whatever. They’ve not been subtle. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“If you think I’ll sell out my friends so that you can enslave them just to fulfill your plan of cowardice you are more of an idiot than I thought you were.”

“Rosebud, this could decide whether or not we get to live the next few-”

“What? Years? Months? Days?  _ Hours? _ If what you were talking about is true, Jack, we’d be lucky to last a few minutes.”

“A few more minutes alive with you is a few more well spent.”

“Oh, how romantic. You keep that in mind when we’re in the escape pod and I’m strangling the ever living shit out of you."

“Honestly? That might be the one of better ways I go out. Much rather that, than having a hole in my abdomen the size of a dinner plate.”

“Well, if you’re planning to avoid that happening to you again, I’d suggest dropping the whole shitty Siren plan and finding an alternative.”

“An alternative to having three all powerful Sirens fighting off an alien armada? Sweetheart, you realize this isn’t as simple as looking up a vegan version of a recipe, right?”

"Never said it was. But it's a hell of a lot smarter."

There was a pause on the other side of the line, only filled by the sound of typing. “How do you feel about pancakes?”

Rose drew her eyebrows together. "What?"

"You haven't had anything to eat, right?"

"I. . . yeah, but I don't see how that's relevant to-"

“I’m not letting you starve in my apartment especially if you’re raiding my liquor cabinet. Pancakes or no, Rosebud?”

Rose paused, mouthing the word “unbelievable” before answering. “Pancakes, but, Jack, this is a serious subject and I think instead of pretending it doesn’t exist like you always do then-”

“A bot should be down in thirty minutes, if it’s even a second late tell me and I’ll have it scrapped.”

"Jack, don't you dare hang up on me-!"

"Love you!" Jack hung up.

Rose sighed. "Asshole."


	20. Don't Call it a Comeback

Moze was a reckless driver like most Vault Hunters, but her works were something to be praised. Flipping over vehicles over ravines, bulldozing through wave after wave of psychos and bandits with nothing but a Cyclone. She was almost as infamous as Zane, though he’s got her beat with his drive over the Dust’s peaks with a deactivated eye. But, today Zane might kiss his record goodbye.

Moze was going to find Rose one way or another and if she wasn’t at Opportunity with Jack she’s at least going to make sure she won’t be able to come back to him again.

Daisy whimpered. “We will have to stop soon. The beasts grow impatient,” FL4K informed. “And you will have to take a break as well. I know you become ignorant of your own well-being once you get behind the wheel.”

"I'm fine, FL4K."

“When’s the last time you have drank water? It is not beyond me that you humans need it.”

Moze spared a side glance at the robot. “I’m not thirsty.”

“People often do not feel thirsty when they need water. While you can overhydrate if you’re not careful, dehydration-”

“FL4K, I told you, I’m fi-!” A big flash of light drew the soldier’s attention back to the road as she came to a screeching stop, the beasts all crying out in protest. “What the hell was that?”

“I am. . . unsure.” Some people may or may not know this, but when a robot previously owned by someone called the Grand Archivist doesn’t know something, something is extremely wrong.

Moze unbuckled her seatbelt and loaded up her shotgun. “You stay in here with your pack. I’m going to check that out.”

“At the first sign of danger we will be ready.” Moze opened the door to the Technical and hopped out, slowly moving toward where the bright light was. Moze cautiously toed the sand before stepping in. . . . Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. “See anything?”

“No. But, don’t let your guard down.” Moze continued to scout the area, her eyes darting about, looking for any sudden movement. 

She jumped at the sound of her ECHO ringing. She sighed and took out her ECHO, pressing call. “You got Moze.”

“Hey, Moze, it’s Brick. Me and Mordecai were wonderin’ where you and FL4K ran off to.”

“We’re making a supply run, it’s going on longer than we thought. We’ll be back before you even know it.” Moze went to hang up when Zer0’s voice came on the line.

“It’s not safe right now. / It’s best if we stay on board. / Even though it sucks.”

“Zer0’s right. Sanctuary’s high target right now, it’d be best if we all stayed in one place,” Mordecai reasoned.

“How many people are on this call right now?”

"Eh, I'd say about three people," Brick said.

“Who do y’all got on call right now?” Ellie asked.

"Moze," Brick answered.

"Ooooh, is FL4K with 'er?"

"They're in the car right now."

“Well, Moze, you say hi to FL4K for me an’ tell ‘em to drop by my shop sometime, would you?”

“Sure, Ellie,” Moze said in monotone.

“Thanks, hun, you have fun out there.”

Moze paused. "Is she gone?"

"Yep."

“Good, then let me tell all three of you that me and FL4K will come back eventually. I am confident you guys can hold down the fort until then. Okay? Okay.” Without waiting for a retort Moze hung up, turning back to the car, finding that FL4K was now in the driver’s seat.

The soldier walked up to their window. “One of the beasts caught a whiff of something?”

“I have come upon some important information about the whereabouts of Rose.”

Moze’s eyebrows raised. “Just now? Like when I was on the phone?”

“I cannot explain it. And whatever it is it could be false. However, I believe it is worth a try.” Moze stood there for a moment in silent confusion.

She threw up her arms. “Fuck it, lead the way, soldier.” FL4K’s beasts hooted, barked, etc. happily as Moze went around the car and hopped into the passenger seat.

“Seatbelt.” That was the only warning FL4K gave before flooring it, making Moze’s reckless driving seem like a breeze.

* * *

Timothy mulled over the map, taking small sips of his coffee in between whispers of theories and hypotheses. Apparently hunting Rose was more difficult than the Vault Hunters made it look.

He sighed. He might have to call for help soon. Rhys could put him through Zane, right? No, that’d be weird. What with Zane and Rose dating and Timothy’s-

“Has anyone ever told you you look like Handsome Jack?” a feminine voice from beside him whispered. Timothy’s eyes widened, he went to turn to look at the person next to him when they spoke again. “Hoods up, heads down, Timothy.”

Timothy stared down at the map, the icy feeling of dread filling his entire body. “Who are you and how do you know me?”

“Let’s just say I’m a friend you haven’t met yet.”

"What do you want?"

"I want to help you out, if you will let me."

"I don't even know who you are."

“I’ll be offended by that statement, but for now, I have some information you will be interested in.”

"And how do you know I will accept it?"

“Because I know who you are. And I can shout it at the top of my lungs. Pretty sure everyone in here will be thrilled to know they’re drinking with Handsome Jack.” Timothy bit on the inside of his cheek. “But, I don’t think either of us would want that to happen, right?”

Tim shook his head. "No."

“Good, then let me tell you what I know. You should find Rose holed up in Jack’s old apartment in Opportunity. She’ll try to get you to leave, but don’t leave the apartment, no matter what.”

"How do you know all of this?"

“Dude, you just got a plan to rescue your dream girl, you’re really going to waste time asking questions?”

“Well, your sell was ‘listen to me or I sick a mob of coffee shop goers on you’, I think I can ask a few questions!” Timothy whispered.

"I'm not who you're thinking, Tim."

"Then who are you?"

“I already told you.” The mystery person slipped Timothy a stack of money, more than likely to use for the trip down to Opportunity. “I’m a friend.” Timothy finally gained the will to look at the supposed “friend” only to find they were gone. The doppelganger spared a cursory glance around the coffee shop in search, only to come up with curious glances and stares of strangers.

Hastily, Tim gathered his things and made his way to Opportunity.

* * *

The life of a digi-clone is often dull and unsatisfactory according to recent surveys, but the digi-clone of Zane Ferocity Charm Death-Bringer Flynt? Anything but.

Though, most interactions to the outside-world are short-lived it packs in more life than most live in a lifetime. The clone had to admit, it liked being Zane, it’s job was never boring that way.

And finding a well-dressed woman in the middle of the Dust was no exception. The clone stopped in its tracks and smiled charmingly.

She smiled back. "You up for doing me a favor?"

The clone shrugged. 'Sure,' it seemed to say.

She pulled out a folded piece of paper and offered it up to the clone. “Take this to Zane.” The clone reached out, took the paper from her and gave her a salute before running off. Now, that may be odd to some people. But, when you’re Zane Flynt you don’t ask a lot of questions. . . . And when you’re mute in a non-sign world there’s little you can do for objections anyway.

It wasn’t long before the clone came back to Zane. “Find anythin’?” he asked to which the clone presented the paper. “Ah, whatcha got there, lad?” Zane took the paper from his clone and unfolded it. The clone peered over his shoulder to read it.

“ _Zane, this is a message from a friend you haven’t met yet. I know where your girlfriend is and I know how you’re going to find her, but you just have to trust me. She’s in Opportunity, in Jack’s apartment. You will have to enter the only way you know how to. Guns blazing into Jack’s office. You will come to a stalemate with him, but do not give up. Do not leave the office. And above all: do not kill Jack. If you kill him, you will jeopardize the whole mission. Don’t be stupid._ ” There was no signature.

Zane turned to his clone in confusion. “Where did you get this?” The timer for the clone had finally run out and he disappeared to recharge, leaving Zane.

The sound of a car being digitized and the thrum of a powerful engine caused Zane to turn around. Moxxi was sitting behind the wheel of an Outrunner.

"You comin', sugar?"

Zane folded up the letter and placed it into his jacket pocket. “Yep, just give me a sec, lass.” Zane jogged over and climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up.

Moxxi surveyed him. "You okay?"

“Yeah, couldn’t be better. Me clone just found somethin’ strange is all.”

"Anything useful?"

Zane looked at Moxxi and thought about his options for a moment. “Yeah. . . . But you’re not gonna like it.”

* * *

“What exactly am I looking at here, Tannis?” Amara asked.

“My recent data of energy surges near Pandora. While it is only a hypothesis that this is what created Jack and could perhaps bring him back to the grave, this is something entirely more interesting.”

Amara’s eyebrow shot up. “More interesting than Handsome Jack coming back to life?”

Tannis looked to Amara giddly. “Ten folds!” Tannis referred back to the holographic map. “These surges are unlike anything we have ever seen including the most powerful of Siren attacks. We are talking about opening Vault level energy and it’s littering the entire planet!”

“You are far too excited for something this catastrophic.”

“Here’s the thing, Amara, some of these readings date back to five years before the Great Vault was even mentioned, yet we haven’t seen them until now!”

Amara looked to Tannis worriedly. “How is that possible?”

“I have no clue! But this could be-” a crash came from behind the elder Sirens. Amara turned around, her hands on her hips. She opened the door to Maya’s lower cabinet, revealing none other than Ava.

She grinned nervously. "Hi, Amara, I was just-"

“Don’t bother with an excuse. Let’s go, Ava.” Amara reached in and picked up Ava effortlessly, carrying her out of the room.

"Oh, come on! I just wanted to know what was going on!"

“And we told you to go practice lifting that stress ball.”

"But that's so boring! And so stereotypical for telepathic girls."

“Telekinetic for now. You still have not been able to contact anyone telepathically.”

“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Amara set down the young Siren at one of Maya’s old nook chairs where a stress ball filled with galactic goo sat across from it. “I can help too, you know.”

“I know. That’s why you’re practicing.” Ava rolled her eyes. Amara squatted down. “I know it doesn’t seem much right now and it seems tedious, but believe me that it will all be worth it once we get into a real battle.” Ava opened her mouth to retort when a knock came upon the door.

“Who-” Amara pressed her finger to her lips, silencing Ava. Amara motioned for the young Siren to stay put before she carefully made her way to the door. 

The door slot, though boarded up, there was a letter beneath it. Cautiously, the Siren picked it up, quietly opening the envelope and reading the letter inside.

“ _Get ready._ ” Amara’s expression turned grim at those two words. What in the ever living hell could that mean?

"Amara! I found another energy surge!"

"Not now, Tannis!" Amara called.

"It's rather concerning! And a little invigorating." Tannis came out of her lab, displaying her holographic map proudly, the image set on Athenas. A giant, yellow bubble was set upon the map. "It was right outside our door!"

* * *

The day's been busy. That sentence does absolutely no justice to the utter chaos that was brewing in Atlas today, however it's all anyone can blurt out in between breaths.

Rhys so far has mulled over plans and strategies with Lorelei, discussed war time savings with Vaughn, try to get Sasha to leave some weapons for the soldiers and has already put out some people to go scout Opportunity. Right now, he's been trying to get in contact with the Vault Hunters on Sanctuary, but it seems like they already have their hands full. Which is amazing considering the jobs a Vault Hunter can pick up and finish in one day.

Rhys plopped down at his desk, rubbing his face. He wished Timothy was here, he was always good at keeping things organized. He could've probably called up a couple of professionals, got them packed up and ready to go before Rhys could say "We should get some people on the field".

His intercom rang, notifying him that someone was at the door. He pressed down the button, not tearing his eyes away from the ceiling.

"Name and business."

"Got a letter for you." The voice gave Rhys pause.

He sat up. "And. . . who are you?" No answer. Somewhat urgently, Rhys got up from his desk and went to answer the door himself. His hand somewhat shook as he reached for the button to the door. He grabbed it, steadying it. He didn't know why he was so nervous. It was just a messenger for all he knew.

Taking a sharp breath, he pressed the button, the doors opening. Behind them was. . . just a letter. Rhys took a step forward, his eyes scanning the area frantically for whoever dropped it off, but no one was in sight.

Hesitantly, he took the letter and closed the door. He tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. The hand writing seemed. . . familiar. Rhys for the time being saved that thought for later as he read the note.

" _Do not fall back, keep your men where they are. No matter what._ "

The words were ominous that much is evident, but that's not what was filling Rhys with anxiety.

He folded the letter and put in his vest pocket before rushing back to his desk, hurriedly finding his camera footage. Rhys locked onto the camera outside his door and the breath left his lungs.

"It. . . it can't be."

* * *

Sanctuary was on a course for Pandora where the B Team had planned to drop off Zer0 to go and scout for the runaway Vault Hunters. The atmosphere remained tense, however, not the “GOOD GOD, HANDSOME JACK IS GOING TO KILL US ALL” sort of tense anymore. That quiet sort of tense where even the most minor of incidents may set even the calmest people off.

Though, some people try to keep their cool regardless. People like

_Ellie, Put Some Boost in Your Kaboose!_

try to maintain a positive outlook on even the most dire of situations, something she took from her mother.

She continued to tinker in her garage, helping passengers that happened to pass her by anyway she could. Even the assholes, everyone was having a hard time after all. So, it didn’t put off Ellie when a young woman had called for her.

She wasn’t anyone Ellie had ever seen before, but she was mighty pretty and sharply dressed too, unlike anyone on Sanctuary. She had a suave air about her, you probably could see her working for corporations like Hyperion or Vladof or something like that. She had a somber look on her face.

Ellie smiled warmly. “Well, hi there! What can I do you for?”

"Scooter was your brother, right?"

“Yessiree, my brother was one o’ the finest mechanics around. Helped build a good chunk of this ship here ‘fore he passed.”

The woman smiled. “I figured. This looks like his handy-work.”

"Oh, you knew him?"

“Yeah, he helped me and a few friends way back. He, uh. . . he’s the reason why Helios was taken down.”

Ellie’s eyebrows rose. “Wait a minute. . . you were there?”

"Your brother is a true hero and he wanted you to know that he did some badass things." Ellie was speechless. "Sorry, where are my manners?" The woman held out her hand. “I’m-”

_Fiona, The Traveler._


	21. The Set Up

After breakfast Rose had to find some ways to entertain herself keeping herself from going insane. . . or at the very least more insane than lately. She had tried television, but her choices were news or Hyperion propaganda or both. She thought about using her ECHO, but thought better of it.

Then she rediscovered Jack’s bookshelf. It was a lot of "his own books" which he had blackmailed the ghost writers to make them just the way he wanted them too, but there were a few actual non-fiction ones that weren’t a bad read. One in particular being the study of Eridium and it’s mysterious origins with Sirens. Reading it knowing what Jack’s intentions for it was felt a lot like reading How to Serve Humans, but better this than her own thoughts.

The sun had begun to set when she heard a sudden thump from the other room. Rose slowly took her eyes from the book and stared at the doorway to the living room. Swiftly, but quietly, she grabbed her holster, taking out her pistol, tip toeing over to the doorway. Taking in a deep breath she stepped in, taking aim, pulling down the hammer.

Timothy’s hands shot up. “Woah, woah, woah, Rose it’s me!”

Rose pulled back the hammer and lowered her gun. “Timothy? What the hell are you doing here?!”

"I came here to rescue you."

“I don’t need rescuing! _You_ need to get out of here, it's not safe!”

"And you being here is?"

“Yes!” Rose grabbed Tim by the shoulders. “Now I don’t know how you got in here, but you need to get out before anyone sees you.”

Timothy grabbed her wrists, looking down at her sternly. “I’m not leaving you here.”

“I came here, Timothy!” Rose exclaimed, causing Timothy to freeze. “Jack called me in the middle of the night saying he was going to take down Sanctuary and take me and the Sirens with him. I chose to go AWOL. I chose to come here. I chose to stay. And for now, Sanctuary and the Sirens are safe. You can’t come flying in like a fucking superhero and expect me to come with you. As long as I’m here, my friends have a chance. And that means you too.”

Timothy recomposed himself before grabbing her prosthetic with his own. “We bleed the same blood.”

“We don’t have to anymore. Go be with the Raiders, you guys need each other.”

"We need you."

Rose's expression turned more somber. "That's not true, Timothy," she said gently.

“You saved Pandora from the Calypsos. You liberated the Jackpot. You saved me and countless others!”

"And I put Handsome Jack in power, killing countless of others."

"There's still time-"

“There’s time for you to prepare and there’s time for me to fix this here.”

“Rose, please, you can’t do this. You can’t leave!”

“Don’t make this any more painful than it has to be, Tim. I’m staying.” She took her hand away from him. “And that’s final.” She turned around and went to leave when Timothy spoke.

"Please, don't leave me again."

Rose looked to Timothy with an unreadable expression. “Jack said the same thing to me not too long ago.” Timothy looked to her in surprise, his palm beginning to sweat. Did he say the wrong thing? “He’s odd like that. He’ll be this horrible, looming dictator, but he has these tender moments that sometimes are even scarier to see than seeing him angry. It was almost pathetic.”

"What. . . did you tell him?"

“I told him he can’t control me or my actions. Evidently, a lot more rude than how I’m going to tell you right now.” Rose put a comforting hand on Timothy’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried about me, Timothy and you just want me to be safe, but you don’t get the choice in that.” Timothy frowned.

Rose wrapped her arms around him. “All those years working for Jack, you were the highlight of my day,” he confessed.

“I’m glad I could make you happy, Tim, but I want you to live your life, not someone else’s.”

“You _are_ a part of my life, Rose.”

“I was.” Rose pulled away. “I’m all in the past now.” A resounding bang from outside drew Rose’s attention to the window. The two hurried over. Outside, Rose could clearly see Opportunity was under attack. Guards hurrying to get to the battle while bullets whistled through the air. “Timothy, did you get back-up?!”

"No, I-I came alone!"

"Then what is this?!"

Timothy turned to Rose. "I don't know."

* * *

“You know, it could’ve been a lot better if you had told me we were stormin’ Opportunity before I put on a dress!” Moxxi yelled over the thunderous noises of the battlefield. She hopped up, gunning down some arriving soldiers.

“You were already in the car by the time I got the note!” Moxxi ducked down again, grabbing one of Zane’s grenades, pulled the pin and threw it out before plugging her ears. The explosion sent a few hostiles flying.

“Why are we doin’ what the note says anyway?! You said it yourself, this could be a trap!”

“It very well could be, but to hell with it! These bastards can dangle me by me ankles o’er pit o’ lava for all I care, I’m gettin’ my girlfriend back!” Without warning, Zane rushed into the heat of the fight, picking off soldiers one by one while Moxxi stayed behind, clearing the rest of the area.

“You sure about the stormin’ Jack’s office part of this whole plan?”

"Moxxi, I'm never sure 'bout anythin'."

“Well, that’s a bit concerning.” Soon enough, the first wave was cleared and the two pushed on, making their way to Jack’s office.

The comms to Opportunity screeched to life, cutting through the screams and resounding sounds of explosive warfare. “Man, second day back and I already have Vault Hunters trying to ruin everything again. Gotta say, making me a bit nostalgic. . . . Alright, all done reminiscing. Let’s skip to the part where you die, huh?”

“Did the note say anything about knocking Jack’s teeth out?” Moxxi asked as a soldier beneath her foot met the end of her shotgun barrel.

A smirk played on Zane’s lips. “You know. . . now that I think ‘bout it, I don’t think it did.” Zane sent out his drone, taking down the incoming soldiers from the tops of buildings.

Moxxi smiled as she flipped the gun over, swinging with all her might at an incoming engineer, his face now being the centerpiece in one of Jack’s murals. “I call first swing!”

“Oh, love, you’d knock ‘em out too quickly. Hardly have anythin’ left over for me an’ Rose.”

“I promise he’ll still be awake when I get my first hit in.”

“Pinky promise?” Moxxi’s smile turned into a grin as she wrapped her pinky around Zane’s.

"Pinky promise."

“I’ll hold ya to that.” Zane tapped a small device on his belt and the next thing Moxxi knew she was pinky swearing his clone. The clone nodded toward Moxxi politely and fired over her shoulder at an oncoming EXP-Loader.

“Not bad for a tinker toy. Though, a decoy of someone like Zane would be much more useful with a voice.” The clone looked on expectantly at Moxxi. “I’d be glad to, honey.” Moxxi fired, disabling a Surveyor. “We’ll work on your surroundings analysis as well.” In a mere blink of an eye, the clone was replaced with the real Zane.

"Think I found a way into Jack's office."

"Fast," Moxxi said approvingly. "Main entrance or secret?"

“Pretty sure the main entrance’s booby trapped and knowin’ Jack the secret entrance is probably also booby trapped. So. . . lady’s choice.”

"The main entrance. Gotta make a big entrance after all."

“My kind of gal. Let’s get a move on.” Zane and Moxxi ran off, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

* * *

“FL4K, I was headed to Opportunity anyway, why’d you make me take the passenger seat?”

“Because I know where Rose is in Opportunity,” the Beastmaster responded calmly as they unbuckled, prepping their beasts for storming the Hyperion base. “It’s best if we use my cloak for going in initially. I do not believe Hyperion’s new reinforcement will be as laid back as last time.” As FL4K opened their door a dismembered hand came crashing down at their feet, still flaming. “Perhaps not.” They bent down and shook off the flames before storing it in their cloak, causing their beasts to whine. “You will have to earn it,” they said firmly.

Moze stepped out of the Outrunner, immediately spotting the smoke billowing out of the shining city. “Well. . . that’s not normal.”

“Let’s hurry along. There may not be a Rose to retrieve if we wait.” The two Vault Hunters wasted no more time with dialogue and ran into Opportunity, beasts in tow. Much to their surprise there were many more stragglers than there were armadas of soldiers and robots.

"Did somebody already beat us to it?"

“It’s likely. We are not the only ones with bones to pick with Handsome Jack. Though, going off the amount of fire, I’d say this is Zane’s handywork.” The two pressed on, picking off whoever was still foolish enough to still pick a fight. “What is our plan if this is Zane?”

"What?"

“No matter his questionable taste in partners, he’s still our friend. What are we going to do if we find him in the midst of this destruction?”

Moze thought this over. “We’ll give him a choice. If he wants to go with Rose, fine, but we’ll be giving him the same treatment we give her. If he doesn’t then great we can take care of this whole mess and go back to normal.”

"And what is normal. . . ?"

Moze went red in the face. “Don’t try to twist this into a moral lesson, FL4K. You know what I mean.”

“I actually do not. Handsome Jack is back in power and though short his existence will be this time, I do not believe things will be the same afterwards.”

“Well, then let me spell this out for you. Normal’s us heading back to Sanctuary and dealing with Rose how we should have when we found her the first time and we continue doing what we do best.”

"I doubt that will be the case. But I rather like your perspective."

“Glad somebody does,” Moze muttered as the two ventured on, growing ever closer to Jack’s office.

From the distance was an Atlas soldier, under the guise of a Hyperion soldier. They tapped their comm link upon seeing the Vault Hunters.

“Vault Hunters on sight, let’s lend them a hand, people.” Secretly, the Atlas soldiers took their positions and began thinning the hordes of Hyperion silently.

* * *

Everything seemed to tumble into place, much like dominoes if the dominoes were completely random sizes and there was no telling if they would all fall in line. But, luckily for Fiona they did. She was finally on Sanctuary III and the Vault Hunters should be going after Rose.

All there is to do now is somehow explain what she’s been doing for the last few years without sounding too crazy or absolutely destroying the Vault Hunter’s comprehension.

“So, you gonna tell us what you’re doing here or. . . ?” Brick asked.

“Well, that’s a bit of a tale, but I’ll give you the short and sweet of it. Me and your pal Rhys managed to open the Vault of the Traveler a long ways back. In it was no sort of treasure or loot, it was the opportunity to do greater things.” The Vault Hunters gave each other a confused glance. Fiona expected as much.

She took the necklace from underneath her shirt, showcasing the shining stone dangling from the gold chain. “What’s that?” Mordecai inquired.

“This right here is the Traveler's Stone. As dorky as it sounds it actually contains probably the most kick ass power in the universe. Here.” In a bright, nearly blinding flash Fiona disappeared and after a few seconds she reappeared two or three feet beside the chair she was previously sitting in.

“Is that it? Teleportation? Zer0 can do that and they don’t need a fancy stone. . . . Probably,” said Brick.

"It's not teleportation. It's time travel."

"Huh?"

“I was going to be here in about thirty seconds so I traveled to that destination.”

"I'm. . . not following," Mordecai said.

"Yeah, me either."

“This stone can take me anywhere I want to go as long as I know where I want to go.” There was another bright, blinding flash, however Fiona did not disappear with it, in fact a second Fiona had reappeared. Brick and Mordecai jumped.

“Hi, I’m Fiona from a moment from now and yes, that whole ‘meeting yourself from a different timeline’ doesn’t end the world. I just get a massive headache afterward. Sorry, Fiona.”

“I’ll understand probably.” Another flash and the other Fiona was gone. It wasn’t five seconds after that when Fiona let out a loud groan, clutching her head. “Yep, there it is. God, that sucks.” After a moment or so she recovered and grabbed the Traveler’s Stone. “Be right back.” In a flash, she was gone.

"Do you think we can trust her?" asked Brick.

“Eh, I think she’s powerful enough not to fuck with her. I mean, she gave you a pretty good ass kicking _before_ she could time travel.” 

Fiona was back before they knew it. “Alright, so. . . what was your question again?”

“What are you doing here?” Mordecai repeated.

“Oh, right. Pretty sure you guys were visited by a weird alien with an unpronounceable name a couple years back, right?”

Mordecai and Brick glanced at each other with confusion. “Uh. . . yeah?” Brick said.

"How did you know that?"

Fiona ignored Mordecai’s question. “Then you were warned about the war on Vault Hunters.”

"La mierda," cursed Mordecai.

“I nearly forgot about that,” Brick said perhaps far more casually than he should have.

“Well, it’s coming in a few days time which is why I’ve gathered up your missing Vault Hunters in Opportunity. Don’t worry, if they’ve followed instructions they should ECHO us in a few for us to come pick them up. As for me being here, though, I’m gonna need Tannis’s lab once everyone’s on board.”

"For what exactly?" Mordecai asked.

"That's up for Rose to decide."

* * *

Jack’s annoyed. That’s evident from the dead intern in the corner that quote “Pushing more enforces onto the intruders is pure murder, we have to draw-” end quote.

Jack’s not particularly worried about Opportunity’s intruders; he's really just not looking forward to fixing the damages and expanding the memorial site. It’s always such a pain to sit through all those meetings and pretend to care about the dumbasses that got themselves killed by a couple of bandits. But that’s what he gets for not offing them himself I suppose.

Jack leaned over his desk and pressed the button to the intercom. “Well, well, well, you’re almost at my office. Goody for you! You get a prize! Did you guys know more than half of the soldiers you’ve slaughtered have families in this city? And before you ask no, I can’t name some for you because I just got in yesterday and why the hell would I be wasting my time asking questions like ‘so, how’s the spouse’? I mean, I’m having problems with my own why would I want to get into yours?” Jack laughed. “Anyway, what I’ve been meaning to say is I hope you bandits have a nice little cliff all picked out for your kin to jump off of because I’ll be coming after them too. Alright, toodles!”

He released the button and leaned back in his seat, watching as Opportunity burned. Shouldn’t be long before this is all over. . . . Though, he hasn’t heard from Rose in a while. I mean, not that he thinks the intruders are stupid enough to do something to her, but maybe she actually did drink herself to death. He should check on her.

Jack took his ECHO and dialed up her number, silently counting the rings before she finally picked up. “Rosebud! Hey, just thought I’d check in to make sure you’re alright and that you’ve fed the shark.” While Jack nearly installed a shark tank into his apartment, that’s still purely code for “stomp twice if someone’s holding you hostage”.

"I'm fine, Jack."

“Good, good. You still remember the protocol?”

“Get into the panic room if anything or anyone gets into your office and don’t come out until you say so.”

“That’s my girl. Watch the cameras and I’ll see you back at the apartment after I kill these assholes. Sound good, pumpkin?”

"Sure."

“Okay, I love you, Rosebud.” She hung up and Jack dropped the smile. He really should stop expecting her to turn down the cold shoulder. I mean, did she literally give up her past life just to be with him? Technically, yes, but obviously he’s hurt her in a way that’s not easily healed. No matter how perfect he thinks he is. . . . Or how imperfect.

Jack’s attention was drawn away from his thoughts at the sound of banging emitted from his front door. Calmly, he took the pistol from underneath his desk and cocked it, aiming it at the door. “Come in!” He opened the door, unveiling not just two bandits, but Zane and Moxxi. He grinned. “Blondie! Nice to see you again, how’s the spouse? Oh, wait, you two never got that far, did you?”

“Yeah, neither did you, arsehole. She crashed into Pandora o’ all places just to avoid marryin’ you.”

“And, uh, where is Rose now, huh, blondie?”

“We were just going to ask you that,” Moxxi spoke, taking aim.

"I don't know where she is."

“Oh, I got a feeling you do, so how about you spit it out, before I picked up where we left off,” Moxxi said through her teeth.

“Moxx, c’mon, we both know you’re not gonna shoot.”

“Anything vital.” Moxxi placed a boot up onto Jack’s desk and leaned over, lowering her aim. “Where is Rose?”

“I already told you, I don’t know. Now you get walking before you end up like Freddy over there.” Moxxi and Zane looked over at each other and after a small moment, they looked back at Jack and laughed.

“Oh-ho, boyo, ya think yer threats scare us?”

“We’re ready to stay here for as long as it takes until you give up Rose.”

“Well, might as well grab a seat because I - don’t - have her.” Subtly, Jack pressed the button beneath his desk, alerting a group of soldiers he had set aside and Rose to get into the panic room.

“Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then-” a resounding blast cut through the confrontation. And all eyes were on Jack’s bookshelf. Unless it was attached to the wall it would have been knocked over or at least it would have shifted. One of the downfalls to Jack’s cliche taste in secret doorways.

“A secret passageway. Classic,” Moxxi commented harshly. “I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but where does it lead?”

“My apartment. And unless Rose wasn’t entirely honest about being over me then you won’t find her there.”

“Then you won’t mind if I checked?” Moxxi asked.

“Sure, if that will get you out of here.”

“I’ll stay here to make sure he doesn’t pull anythin’,” Zane said.

“Save some of him for me,” Moxxi said with a smile before she walked over to the bookshelf, giving it a quick scan before finding a book laying on its side. She found the empty space with ease and slid the book in. The bookshelf swung opened and Moxxi strolled in.

Jack turned to Zane who never took his eye off of him. “So, what’re you gonna do ‘til Moxxi comes back empty-handed? Threaten me? Go on a monologue how I’ll never win?”

“Nah.” Zane plopped down into the chair across from Jack. “How ‘bout we talk ‘bout why you came back in the first place?” Jack laughed.

* * *

“Rose,” Moze greeted bitterly as the Skag fled the pack and barked happily upon finding her owner again.

Rose scooped Daisy up. “Moze. FL4K.”

“Timothy,” FL4K said with a friendly nod toward the doppelganger.

Confused, Timothy waved back. "Hey. . . ."

“Care to tell us what you’re doing in Jack’s apartment?” Moze questioned.

"I was coming to save Rose-"

“What are you doing in Jack’s apartment, _Rose?”_ Moze rephrased.

“He called me up the night I came home saying he was going to blow up Sanctuary and take me and the Sirens with him. I left to come here and trade myself for the safety of Sanctuary. I was hoping by not telling anyone they would have a harder time finding me.”

“FL4K got an anonymous tip that you were here and wouldn’t you know, they were right.”

Rose sighed. “Moze, I know you don’t trust me, but please, don’t do this. It’s honestly better if you all went back and forgot about me.” Rose kissed Daisy on the top of her head and set her down, motioning her over to FL4K. She spared a confused glance between the two before FL4K pulled out a scorched human hand and she ran right over.

“You think we’re stupid? We are not leaving you with Jack again. So far you have resurrected him and brought him back into power, we can’t allow you to do anymore damage.” Moze took a step forward, brandishing a set of handcuffs.

Timothy was taking a stance in front of Rose as Moze grew closer, Rose didn’t fight him. “Don’t you understand? If you take me down Jack will only come after you! It’s all best if everyone just stays-” All fell silent at the sound of a Maliwan incinderay shell burning through the door. Everyone turned to see Moxxi.

Moxxi glared. “I thought you two were supposed to stay on Sanctuary.”

“I thought you were too,” countered Moze.

“They can survive without me as a bartender, they can’t survive without you!”

“All of you shouldn’t be here!” Rose blurted out. “I came here upon my own volition to protect Sanctuary and the rest of you! You being here is throwing that out the goddamn window! So, everyone, please, kindly, get out!”

“Rose, we got Jack tied up at the moment,” Moxxi explained. “Opportunity’s in flames and Zane’s keeping him at gunpoint. If we get you out of here now we can deal with him later.”

“Tim, Moxx, I appreciate you coming to rescue me, but I can’t allow you to risk Jack killing you. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened. Please. Go back. There’s still time for you all to prepare.”

The room went quiet. “Prepare. . . for what?” Timothy asked.

Rose and her big mouth. “I managed to convince Jack to tell me his plan for the future. . .”

* * *

The ringing of the house phone settled into the house, causing all the Sirens to hush. They all stopped and stared at the ringing phone, unsure if any of them should answer it. Tannis, being the most selfless of the group - which is not saying much - stepped up despite the silent protest of Amara and Ava.

Tannis picked up the phone and grinned as if this was nothing but a friendly check up. “Hello?”

“Tannis, right?” an unfamiliar feminine voice called.

"Yes. Who is this?"

“Name’s Fiona, I’m a new recruit. You all got my message, right?”

“Oh, yes! We’ve been worried sick about it all night, we hadn’t a clue what it meant.”

“Well, it means this. Tell Amara to contact Moze and tell her to call Brick and Mordecai immediately. It’s time.”

“Time for what? Fiona?” Tannis took the phone away from her ear. “Huh.”

"What is it?" Amara asked.

"She hung up."

"No, Tannis, what's going on?"

“Oh. Apparently that thing we’ve been preparing for is you contacting Moze and telling her to call Brick and Mordecai.” Amara furrowed her eyebrows.

“Moze? Why would we be waiting all this time for me to contact Moze just to tell her to call the B-Team?”

“Well, considering our activities if this was something anticipated they must have needed us attentive.”

“They could’ve done it a little less cryptic,” Amara criticized.

"Yeah, right?" Ava added.

“Nevertheless, it’s time to reach out to Moze. If it was enough to have to scare us half to death, it must be important.”

Amara sighed. “Alright. I won’t be happy about it.” Amara took a seat on the couch, resting her hands on her knees as she closed her eyes, focusing on nothing but Moze. Where she might be. What she might be thinking about. The way that fire sparks behind her eyes when she gets her hands on a machine gun. . . .

She could see Moze faintly in some sort of. . . apartment? No, too fancy for that. Might be a hotel. “Moze?” Moze jumped.

"Amara?"

“Who else is going to show up here?!” what seemed like Rose exclaimed.

“Is that Rose?” She could already see Moze coming up with about a billion different excuses. “You know what? I don’t want to know, it’s been a long day. I’ve been told to tell you to call Brick and Mordecai.”

"What?"

"I don't know why, just do it and do it now, please."

"Amara-"

“Just do this one thing for me today.” Moze seemed conflicted and Amara could tell. “Please?”

Moze sighed, pulling out her ECHO. “Alright.”

"Thank you."

“Wait a minute, who are you calling?” Rose asked again. Moze merely shushed her as she dialed up Brick and Mordecai.

“I’ll call you back later tonight and we’re going to have a talk.” Moze nodded silently and Amara frowned slightly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, ‘Mar.” Amara broke off the contact and let out a breath she didn’t she was holding.

"Well? What's going to happen now?" asked Ava.

Amara stood up. “I have no clue what you two are doing, but I’m going to sleep.” And with that, she shuffled off to the bedroom.

* * *

Everything kinda fell together all at once after that. Jack’s guards never arrived and he was easily outnumbered. The leader of the undercover Atlas agents contacted Rhys explaining what had happened. Brick and Mordecai got their promised call and were sending Sanctuary down to the freshly emptied Opportunity, putting an end to the endless stalemates.

Still confused and untrusting of the other party, the rescue and the search party boarded Sanctuary. Well, all except for Jack of course. That took some negotiation with basically everyone on Sanctuary at that time. Rose reminded them of his threat to blow the ship up just to get to her. If he was on the ship with her, there wouldn’t be a need for that. The Vault Hunters were less than happy about that, but with Mad Moxxi, Zane Flynt, one of the saviors of Elpis, and literally a time traveler being on her side there wasn’t much of a choice.

The next challenge was getting everyone caught up, calmed down, and separated on the ship. But, eventually, with the help of Fiona the rescue and search party were placed in the lower decks and Jack was being held somewhat prisoner in the shooting range.

Rose was now in the infirmary with Fiona, confused as ever. “Why in God’s name would you want me of all people to do this?”

“You’re the only one that was able to stop the war against Vault Hunters. Trust me, I’ve checked.”

“Fiona, I’m sure you’re a fine time traveler and all, but I am not the one to do this job. There’s a dozen people on this ship you can choose for this and any one of them would be perfectly capable.”

Fiona leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “What’s making you think you can’t do this?”

"I'm old."

"So am I, technically. . . . I think."

“I haven’t done anything like this since the Great Vault.”

"Never too late to start again."

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” Fiona took out three items from the pockets of her coat. She slid a slip of paper, a flashdrive, and an ECHO recording across the table toward Rose. “What are these?”

"Your starters apparently."

"Apparently? What? Do you not know what these are?"

Fiona shook her head. "She said you'd figure it out."

"She?"

“Guess you could say my advisor. She’s the one that put me on this path in exchange for getting back to my own time.”

"And she's trustworthy?"

Fiona shrugged. "Got me this far."

“Yeah, sitting across the woman that revived Handsome Jack and asking her to literally change history.”

“It’s all a part of the process. Whether we like it or not. If Jack wasn’t here we wouldn’t have been able to wrangle the Vault Hunters together.”

Rose sighed. “For the love of god, don’t allow that to get out. It’ll go straight to his head.”

"What doesn't?" Fiona deadpanned.

Rose moved on, looking down at the items Fiona had laid out. Still puzzled, she unfolded the slip of paper. Numbers- no, coordinates for. . . something. The flash drive had a piece of tape over it, her name being written on top of it in what seemed like Jack’s handwriting, but there’s no way to check it. She turned her attention to the ECHO recorder and pressed the play button.

"I love you," said Jack's voice.

“What the hell is this supposed to mean. . . ?” Upon second glance the coordinates became familiar. It was higher up in the air, but that was practically right above Tannis’s old lab in Roland’s Rest. Rose paused and played the audio over again.

"I love you." Now that Rose thought about Lilith had said something like that before she left.

_“Sick bastard had ‘I love you’ as the password.”_

Rose looked to the stone dangling from Fiona’s neck. “How do you use that thing?”

Fiona smiled, taking off the necklace and placing it down above Rose's starters. "Here's the rundown. . . ."


	22. Let's Do the Time Warp For the First Time

Rose was mortified. Which you’d think after everything that’s an understatement by now. But she is mortified. Truly and utterly mortified. Not for failure. Not for messing up. Not for the aliens hellbent on committing genocide against Vault Hunters knocking upon Sanctuary’s doors. But for leaving for the actual confrontation she was going to face. Which is odd. She had no reason to be afraid of that. . . from an outsider’s perspective.

She stared down at the Traveler’s Stone. Possibly the most powerful weapon in the universe and she’s twiddling it like any other necklace. It’s probably better than her endless scratching, but. . . not by much.

The door to the infirmary slid open, unveiling Zane. “Hey, love, came as soon as I could-” wordlessly, Rose wrapped her arms around Zane and held him tight. “What’s happened?” Rose looked up at him with fearful eyes, still not uttering a word. “Oh, you’re ‘bout to do somethin’ drastic aren’t ya?”

“That may be an understatement,” Fiona spoke up. “She’s the one that has to bring back whatever’s gonna help us win the war against Vault Hunters.” Zane looked back down at Rose who remained silent.

He bent down, taking her by the shoulders. “Rose. I hardly understand this. But I know you can do it. You’ve done amazin’ things. Things I could only dream o’ doin’! You are gonna save the world and you’re gonna make it look like a fuckin’ breeze.”

“I-. . . Zane, what if I don’t come back? What if I get caught up and I leave you again? But, this time for real. I can’t do that to you or to Moxxi or to all of Sanctuary-!”

"Hey. We'll scrape by. We always do."

"You can't know that, Zane-"

“Darlin’, we’re the Crimson Raiders. We always bounce back. This time ain’t no different. We’ve had universe threatenin’ crises before and we’ve come back stronger ‘cause of it. If ya come back wit’. . . whatever it is you’re bringin’ back, great. If ya don’t then we’ll find a way.” Zane cupped Rose’s cheek with his hand. “It’ll be okay.” Rose frowned before taking Zane’s face into her hands and giving him a kiss goodbye.

She rested her forehead against his own. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you again.”

“Then don’t. It’ll be easier on my ol’ heart anyway.” Rose took in a deep breath, breaking away from Zane.

Fiona slowly walked up to Rose. "Ready?"

"No. But, I never will be."

"Got everything you need?" Fiona asked.

“Coordinates, hard drive, and recorder are in my back pocket.”

“Okay, get a good grip of the stone and say your. . . non-goodbyes now.”

“I’ll. . . see you two on the other side.”

"We'll be there," Zane assured.

Rose let out a breath slowly, clutching the stone tightly and shutting her eyes, envisioning a great, big, shining opportunity. The stone shook violently in her hand, but she held on, not daring to let go. An energy unlike Rose has ever felt before surged through her.

In a flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

Rose appeared in a desert. There was a short, red and black structure beside her, but beside that it was empty. . . . This isn’t exactly what she was hoping to find.

“Taking in the breathtaking scenery?” Rose jumped and spun around seeing

_John, Hyperion Programmer, Husband, Father, and Future Dictator._

"Where did you come from?" Rose blurted out.

John raised an eyebrow. “Not a lot of places I could’ve come from, sweetheart,” he said, throwing his thumb over to the building beside them. “Though, you don’t look Hyperion. . . . You wouldn’t happen to be one of those face-eating bandits I keep hearing about now would you?” he inquired, almost jokingly.

"Do I look like one?"

John looked her up and down. "Eh. . . maybe not face-eating."

“I’m not a bandit. In fact, most people here aren’t bandits, they’re just people trying to get by.”

"Well, then who are you?"

"Linda." Rose didn't think she'd be going by Linda again ever since the Jackpot, but she supposes history is just bound to repeat itself at this point.

The Hyperion programmer smiled, outstretching his hand. “John.” Hesitantly, Rose took it. “What brings you out here, Linda?” he asked, leaning against the wall.

"Business, but I got a little lost."

“I got an all expenses paid pass here, I wouldn’t mind giving you a ride as long as you promise you won’t kill me.”

“No offense, but I trust you even less than you’d trust the psychos around here.”

“I get it. I must seem like every corporate asshole up there hellbent on the suffering of others. But, I got a wife and a kid waiting for me back home. Rather not risk them receiving a complimentary mug because I decided to be an asshole and piss off the wrong woman.” Jesus, whatever happened to him?

Rose saved that question for later if she ever talks to Jack again after this. “You shouldn’t risk sheltering the wrong woman either if you have a family up there.”

“I know, but I don’t throw this offer out often, especially to Pandorans. You seem trustworthy, at least enough to give you a ride.”

“I’m sure you mean well, John, but I’d much rather domesticate a Rakk Hive and ride it than take a ride from a Hyperion code monkey.”

John narrowed his eyes. “How did you know I was a programmer?” Rose internalized her initial panic. She can't lose her cool now.

“They have this look to them, albeit it’s much less put-together. But the way your eyes move and analyze you can tell you’re paid to stare at a screen for hours on end.”

John smiled. “And how do you know you’re not just a beautiful woman?”

“Alright, kiddo, settle down.” . . . Kiddo? Did she just call him kiddo? She never calls people kiddo. Even people who are younger than her.

"Kiddo? Who are you calling kiddo?"

"A man who obviously hasn't seen much."

"Who are you to assume what I have and haven't seen?"

“Someone with some extra decades worth of experience under her belt. Decades you haven’t had the chance to see yet.”

"What? You can see that from my eyes too?"

“Yes, actually.” Rose looked deep into his mismatched eyes. “You have big ambitions, some say too big to fulfill, but you’ll be damned if you don’t. Right now, that cushy little programming job and the apartment you’re probably sharing with your wife and kid is nice, but you’re not going to be sated for long.” Rose stood up from the wall. “Let me give you some advice, kid. You may succeed, but with success there’s always destruction in these lands. The higher you go up the corporate ladder, the worse you’ll feel. Remember that, Jack.”

"John."

“Names don’t matter, your name certainly doesn’t. Right now, you’re just a programmer. Which once big man Tassiter comes up with a machine to program more machines you’ll be out of the job faster than you can say ‘but I’ve worked so hard’.” Rose turned around, beginning to walk away. “The borderlands are going to fuck you over sooner or later, kiddo! You better start building some walls for it!”

Rose continued until she was out of sight. She checked to make sure he hadn’t followed before letting out a breath of relief. “God, that was close,” she muttered, grabbing the stone once again. “Okay. Let’s hope I don’t have to do that again.” She closed her eyes, solely focusing on the brightly shining opportunity, the stone shaking violently in her hand-

A rakk swooped down, baring its claws and took Rose’s hand, the Traveler’s Stone with it. She gaped. “Wha- you Rakk bastard!” She chased after it, hastily taking out her pistol. She prays it’s loaded and aims it up high. “Has to be a Rakk, the one fucking thing I can’t shoot,” she muttered. She fired and no surprise, she missed. She tried again, missed. The Rakk is practically out of sight now, she has one more shot. Rose took careful aim and pulled the trigger.

. . . The gun clicked. Rose looked down at her pistol incredulously. “Shit!”

“Need a hand?” Rose looked over, seeing John yet again, wearing a soft smile on his face. 

She sighed. “Yes, actually. That Rakk flew off with my only way back home.”

John twirled a set of car keys around his finger. “I’ll be glad to help you if you can promise to be nice to me.”

“Fine, sure, let’s just go get my hand back.” She holstered her gun, moving ahead of John to get into the company car’s passenger seat. John jogged over to the driver’s seat, still wearing a smile on his face. He slid into the seat and started the car up. “What are you smiling about?”

He grinned at her. “I just got to watch the borderlands fuck you over, kiddo.” John sped off, catching up with the rogue Rakk.

* * *

"You sure you don't want to just shoot it?" John asked.

“It’s up too high. If I shoot it down now my hand and my teleporter will break.” Rose went to scratch her hand, but remembered it was in the clutches of a Rakk. She crossed her arms instead.

“Pretty advanced stuff with a portable teleporter. Kinda thing that’ll put Fast Travel out of business.”

“Whatever kind of business offer you’re brewing in that empty head of yours you can scrap it. I’m just trying to get on with my own life, I don’t need some company man interfering with that.”

“I’m just saying. If you let me in on your secret we can make you a lot of money and maybe you can buy some new clothes.” Rose glared. “Not that. . . there’s nothing wrong with yours, but maybe you’d like some new ones.”

“Like you know anything about fashion.” Well, actually, it’s not terrible right now, Rose was still thinking about his eventual batshit idea for every day looks.

“Ah, you sound like my girls back home. They tell me I need to change things up, but great minds don’t put that much work into thinking about what to put on everyday. ‘Sides, I look good without really having to try.”

"How humble of you."

“I know right?” he joked, but earned no response, not even so much as the quirk of the lips. John’s smile faded. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, where are you from, Linda?”

"Eden-5, actually."

John whistled. "That's far out."

"Tell me about it."

"What's waiting for you back there?"

Rose glanced at him. “My boyfriend, my dog, a relationship I’ve been meaning to patch up.”

"What's stopped you?"

"Work."

John quirked an eyebrow. "Which is. . . ?"

Rose paused. “I’m a Vault Hunter.” There was a long moment of silence before John bursted into laughter. “What? What’s so funny?”

“A Vault Hunter? You’re telling me you really believe in that junk?” That’s right. A Vault hasn’t been opened in centuries yet.

Rose tried to play off his reaction. “People pay good money for Vault Hunters. To me it doesn’t really matter if I believe that there’s actually a Vault or not.”

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do when people stop believing in that crap?”

“I’ll get by. I always do. What about you, John? What are you going to do if Hyperion pulls the rug out from under you?”

“I’ll migrate to a new corporation and if they don’t want me, fine, I’ll find my own way. Whatever it takes to keep me and my family safe. I want my Angel to grow up in a good home, have a good life, be even better than I am. I’ll be damned if I can’t provide that for her.”

“And how are you providing that exactly? You’re supposedly out on Hyperion business, yet you’re taking the time to chase down a fucking Rakk for a Vault Hunter.”

“First part of my work is done, I just need a word back from my boss. Considering how much time I had until then and how I just so happened to bump into a woman like you in need of help, I thought this would be best. Besides, what else is there to do on this planet?”

“Got me there.” The sun had already begun to set and the Rakk was getting harder and harder to see. Luckily, there was a light in the distance and- “Oh, shit.”

"What is it?"

“It’s heading toward a bandit camp.” Rose took out her pistol and took a look at how many bullets she had left in that thing. Just the one. “I only have one bullet left and only one hand to reload it.”

“Well, lucky for you, Hyperion company cars pack some heat in the trunk.”

"You think that'll be enough?"

John flashed a smile. "Trust me, you're in good hands."

“I sure hope so.” The Rakk made it’s descent into the camp just as Rose and Jack had arrived. It made it’s perch in a giant nest seemingly atop the furthest balcony. Seems like it’s someone’s pet. It won’t be for long, though. “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go down. I need you to get the most obnoxious sounding gun from the trunk there and cause a distraction. I’ll go in behind their backs and get my bearings. The owner of that Rakk is gonna die and that’ll be your cue to haul ass. Leave without me if you must.”

"You sure you can handle them on your own?"

"Please. This isn't my first rodeo, kid."

“An experienced woman,” John commented as he got out of the car.

“Okay, cool down.” Rose opened the door, climbing out of the car, and rounding around to the trunk. John opened it up, unveiling a whole array of Hyperion weaponry.

“Take your pick.” Rose mulled over her choices before taking a semi-automatic that she was all too familiar with. “Good choice. That one is completed with a shield, forty rounds, and the reload is throwing it. As long as you can handle the weight and the recoil, you should be good.” 

Rose held the gun out to him. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, sure, sweetheart." He turned off the safety for her and went to choose his own gun.

"If you hear this thing go off, start running," Rose warned.

"What? You think I'm an amateur?"

“No, but I really don’t want to personally deliver that complimentary cup to your family.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Witnesses of a Hyperion employee’s death get a whole big day on Helios. Free travel, brunch, and you get to rehearse and perform a song for the family. It’s fun, you should try it some time.”

“Never been one to sing or break bad news gently. Really, it’d be better if you stay alive.”

John shrugged as he slipped the shotgun in the holster going across his back. “Suit yourself.” The two walked over to a chain link fence. John bent down and created a foothold with his hands. “Come on, ladies first.” Being very careful with the gun in her hand, she stepped into Jack’s hands and he boosted her up. Rose climbed the rest of the way down while John, fit as ever, climbed over and hopped down.

"That's bad on your ankles."

"You'll be surprised how much I can handle, sweetheart."

"Then surprise me." John's face split into a grin that unlike Jack's was more. . . boyish. Still wouldn't come near him with a six foot stick while he looks like that, but if it came to him or Jack. . . .

John ran off and Rose hid behind a pile of scrap while he called upon as many psychos as he could. "HEY! ASSHOLES!" he shouted. "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! I'M HERE TO TAKE ALL OF YOUR. . . MEAT BICYCLES! COME AND GET ME!" A roar rang out through the camp accompanied by the song of gunfire. Rose took that as her cue to move.

She stuck to the sidelines, steadily climbing through the households and coming closer and closer to the Rakk nest. John was either a hell of a distraction or Rose was just plain lucky for not bumping into anyone on the way to the Rakk. Sneaking up onto the Rakk was smooth all that was left now was to kill it and get her belongings it was guarding.

Without thinking much of it, she took the Rakk by the throat and cracked it swiftly. Living on Pandora teaches you a thing or two about killing on the fly. . . . What it doesn’t teach you is what to do when a whole camp of bandits turn to you. Because let's be honest. Everyone who had that happened to them never lived to give tips on such a situation.

The psychos roared once more, rushing up to ambush Rose. She threw the Rakk away and hastily grabbed her things, cursing softly at finding the Rakk had nearly demolished her fingers. Regardless, she latched on her hand, took a hold of the Traveler’s Stone and-

Somebody picked her up by the back of her shirt. She was turned around to face a giant, masked man. Even though his face was covered it was easy to say that he was pissed.

"Did you kill my Rakk?" he asked in a gruff voice.

“Yeah. Wanna join ‘em?” She swung back, swiftly kicking him in the chest. It wasn’t enough to knock him down, but he was pushed back and in turn, Rose was launched over the railing.

She was luckily caught by John who has now earned a bloody nose and a look of awe. “That was really cool.”

Her eyes went wide. "Run!"

"Right." John made a break for it, Rose picking off what she could with the semi over his shoulder. With John’s previous subtraction, the crowd was thinning nicely, but that doesn’t really matter if you have a barreling tank fueled on anger and grief barreling toward you. Very fortunate for Rose yet again, they were just passing an incendiary barrel.

She turned to John. “Hey, kid, ever seen a burning bandit camp before?” Without looking, she threw the gun. With a loud bang the camp was alight. John spared a peek over his shoulder as he came to a stop.

"Holy shit." He put Rose down, hands on his head. "You just- _we_ just-"

"Killed a whole bandit camp."

John glanced at Rose, positively stunned. "Holy shit," he repeated.

Rose put her hand on his shoulder, smiling. "Welcome to Pandora, kiddo."

* * *

“You sure you don’t want me to give that hand a tune-up before you go? It didn’t look great before and it’s, uh, not looking great now.” Rose flexed her mechanical fingers as much as they could withstand.

“It’ll do for now. Thanks for helping me get my things back.”

“My pleasure. I actually never seen a bandit camp burn before.” John looked dreamily into the crackling embers of the camp. “I could roast marshmallows on that sumbitch.”

“I wouldn’t try it. I’ve seen way too many dumbasses become engulfed in these things by trying to make s’mores. In fact, you may wanna start driving now if you care about that car.”

"What about you?"

"I got my own way out."

John began heading to the car. “Any chance we’ll see each other again, Linda?”

"Considering what happened, I hope not."

John chuckled. “Listen, after what I just saw, I think you’d make a great soldier.” He pulled out a slip of paper, writing a series of numbers on it. He handed it to Rose. “Call me if you ever change your mind about working for Hyperion.” Reluctantly, Rose took it.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll get recruited by a Hyperion code monkey," Rose said sarcastically.

John slid into the driver seat. “But you still took my number.” He shot her a wink before closing the car door. “I’ll see you, Linda!”

"Don't count on it!" John drove off and Rose just now realized that she was smiling. She paused before ripping up the piece of paper, sighing. She took the Traveler’s Stone into her hand, allowing the power of it to flow through her, focusing only on that bright, shining opportunity.

In a flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

Rose stumbled into what seemed to be some sort of museum, filled with all sorts of bits and bobbles and- is that her fucking engagement ring?

. . . . Upon further analysis she started to recognize her personal items she had left behind. Her concept sketches for shields and weapons, a portrait of her on the wall with her hands on Jack’s shoulder, a golden statue of her in front of the large window, roses decorating every corner. Elpis’s crack illuminating the dark museum in a deep, purple glow.

She was on Helios. _She was on Helios. SHE WAS ON HELIOS._

Frantically, she fumbled with the Traveler’s Stone when the space station shook violently, rose vases crashing onto linoleum. “Shit!” she swore, taking a hold of her desk. Jesus Christ, _her_ desk. She had forgotten about it. She had forgotten about this whole office. And she was glad for it. Too many memories here that she wishes not to discuss.

The monitors upon the wall flickered to life, revealing

_AI Jack, Virtually Pissed._

“ _Rhys?! You best come out now because when I find you. . . who the hell are you?”_ Rose’s mouth fell open but no sounds were coming out. This was the day Helios fell. This was the day that the legends gave her nightmares alone. _“Let me guess, you’re one of Rhys’s bandit pals. Sorry if I forgot about you when you’re this famous you meet a lot of people.”_ Jack laughed. _“But where are my manners? Hi, I’m Handsome Jack, president of this company and man of your dreams. I’m looking for a weasly little traitor by the name of Rhys, you wouldn’t happen to know where he is would you, sweetheart?”_

Rose swallowed her fear. "I. . . haven't seen him."

“ _Now, you wouldn’t be lying to me would you? I mean, you seem like a trustworthy gal, but. . .”_ the high-placed turrets slowly turned to face Rose, “ _I just can’t take any chances.”_

“I- I swear, I haven’t seen him before!” Jack opened his mouth to speak when an alarm went off.

 _“Just a moment, pumpkin, I just found him digging around in my reactor. . . don’t take that out of context. You stay where you are, I’m not done with you yet.”_ Jack disappeared from the monitor and Rose took that time to take hold of the Traveler’s Stone and-

The station shook violently, and the stone fell out of her hand and into an air vent. “Of course. Of course. Of fucking course!” She dropped to the floor and peeked into the vent. . . it went straight down. Rose sighed. “Okay.” She reared back her left hand and punched through the vent, ignoring it scrape against her arm as she pulled it out. She peeled back the metal and prayed she wouldn’t get stuck.

Rose hopped down into the vent and was surprised when she had to slow herself. “ _Oh, what do we have here?”_

“Oh, no.” The station shook once again, this time canting at more of an angle so Rose would lose her grip and slide down with ease. Rose yelled all the way down to. . . Jack’s Office where she landed rather roughly on her knees. She groaned. “Jesus Christ.”

“ _Please, Jack’s just fine, cupcake._ ” She looked up, seeing a large monitor, displaying Jack’s smug face.

She stared at him for a moment. "I don't have time for this," Rose muttered while she stood up.

“ _What? Looking for your little rock?”_ Rose looked down at the Stone that was only a few feet away from her. “ _Nothing’s stopping you, sweetheart, you can have it._ ” 

Rose shot daggers at the monitor. "You think I'm stupid?"

_"Excuse me?"_

Rose took off her scarf and tossed it out onto the floor. The trap door slid open just enough for Rose to fall through, but also still supporting the stone. “ _You knew about the trap door._ ”

“I know a lot of things about this office.” She walked around the trap door and went to take the stone when the door jerked back ever so slightly.

“ _Ah-ah-ah. I want answers first, kitten. Or else, I’ll be more than happy to just chuck that thing down the trap door._ ”

"You wouldn't want to do that," Rose warned.

“ _Oh, no? Why don’t you tell me about that?”_

Before Rose could react something came up from behind her and held her arms back. It felt. . . skeletal. The arms definitely were bony, much too skinny to be anything like a Loader, but it still held that same Hyperion piss yellow. “ _Tell me first, princess, who are you and why are you here? And if you could make it speedy that’d be great, ‘cause I’m currently threatening three different people right now and a couple of dummies down at the cafeteria._ ”

"Aww, and here I thought I was getting special treatment."

“ _Maybe if I get to know you better, sweetcheeks. So, c’mon, rapid fire before I rapid fire._ ” Rose noted the turrets pointed toward her.

“My name is Linda Burrens. I’m a Vault Hunter, former secretary of you, sir.”

“ _I don’t remember you, but I’ll be honest I don’t remember most of my secretaries._ ”

"I'm not surprised," Rose in a monotone.

“ _So, let me guess, you’re here to take the Gortys project as kind of a way to get back at me for whatever I did to you?_ ”

“No. My mother was murdered here by one of your employees. He kept that necklace as a trophy. I’m here to get it back.”

“ _Nice try, cupcake. Really. If I was any other schmuck I would’ve let you take that stone and leave. But I’m not that stupid._ ” The turrets took their aim, two red dots focusing on Rose’s forehead. “ _Tell you what, I’ll give you another shot. ‘Cause I like you._ ”

Rose stared up at Jack, knowing that this could very well be the end of her. “That’s a Vault Relic, it allows me to travel through time and I. . . miscalculated and came here by mistake. I know you’ll want to get your hands on it more than anything, Jack, but whether I have this stone or not may determine the fate of the future for the worst.” It was a roll of the dice, but it's not like lying will do her much good anymore.

Jack narrowed his eyes. “ _Who are you? Really. ‘Cause I just went through Helios’s records and according to them Linda Burrens doesn’t exist._ ”

Rose paused. “I’m your fiancée.” There was a moment of confusion on Jack’s face before it slowly fell.

“ _Rosebud?”_ The turrets deactivated, Rose was released, and the trapped door closed. “ _Where have you been?_ _I-I thought I had lost you._ ”

“Another time, John.” Rose grabbed the Stone, the power within it becoming a little less overwhelming.

“ _Rose, no!”_ She focused on a bright, shining opportunity. “ _Rose!”_

In a flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

Rose found herself in an old, abandoned little shack. It was the one she lived in while on the run from Jack.

“Sorry, anywhere else might’ve been too public or too uncomfortable,” a low voice spoke. Rose looked up, seeing a cloaked Siren, their tattoos hardly visible beneath the large sleeves. . . . Their tattoos on both of their hands. “Having trouble I’m presuming?”

"Who are you?"

They held up their left hand, showing that it was transparent except for the glowing white tattoos. “In due time.” They lowered their hand, intertwining it with their opaque one. “Fiona has given you the rundown, yes?”

“Yes, but I’ve been running around time like a goddamn ping pong ball. I’ve ran into my ex _twice_ now. If Fiona was my buffer at a party she’d be failing right now.”

"Do not blame Fiona for this. You are focusing on the wrong things," they informed calmly.

"I've been-"

“Focusing on Opportunity in hopes of finding her, but you only have memories of him there. You can’t help but focus on him.”

“Well, I don’t have any memories with her, what else am I supposed to focus on?”

“The lab, Rose. Think of the lab. The Varkids feasting on slag. The broken, defected, torture chamber. Her drawings, her toys, her memories. Her voice. Focus on her voice, Rose.” Rose took the stone into her hand once more, shutting her eyes, thinking of the lab and only the lab. “I’ll see you soon.”

In a flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

Rose appeared in an Opportunity still under construction. At the mere sight of it she gained a massive headache. She rubbed her temples, trying to clear her mind and think.

This was not exactly the destination she was hoping for, but it was close enough. All she needs is to get to a Fast Travel and-

“Hold it right there.” Oh, no. Please, for god’s sake don’t let this be her. Boot spurs clicked Rose’s way, confirming her fears. “Reach for the sky.” Slowly, Rose put her hands up. “That’s it, nice and slow. Now turn around.” Rose turned around, but she already knew who was behind her. It was none other than

_ Nisha, Ex's and Oh No. . . . _

“Well, well, well, here I was taking a visit to my partners and wouldn’t you know that the princess is out of her tower.” Nisha strolled over to Rose, spurs clicking menacingly as she did so. “Why are you dressed like a bandit?” She grabbed her wrist, inspecting the prosthetic. “Scrappy prosthetic and all," she murmured.

Rose thought quick. “I heard a couple of bandits were planning to storm Opportunity, I wanted a piece of the action.”

“Undercover? That’s awfully dangerous. I can’t imagine Jack is gonna like that.”

"Jack doesn't have to know."

"Oh, no? What makes you say that, little troublemaker?"

“You two love a good hunt, besides he’s so sexy when he’s angry.” Rose wanted to gag, but she’s come this far, she can’t go puking on Nisha now. 

“Pissed yeah, but angry. . . you’ll be in for one hell of a punishment. You sure you’re up for it?”

“I’m up for anything, big troublemaker.” Nisha grinned, leaning down, crashing her lips against Rose’s. Rose tried to clear her head, think about anything else than what was happening at the moment.

Nisha pulled away, smirking down at Rose. “I’ll tell you what, I’m feeling a little generous. I’ll give you a headstart. You have until I get to Jack’s office, hell, I’ll even take the stairs.” Nisha winked. “Get a move on, little troublemaker.” Nisha turned around, making her way to Jack’s office and Rose wasted no time sprinting toward the nearest Fast Travel and putting in the coordinates Fiona had given her.

* * *

Rose was on the Hyperion structure, absolutely swarming with soldiers and Loaders, but fortunately for her she had those three lucky words. “Handsome Jack’s girlfriend”. With that she passed through the guards with ease. It wasn’t long before she had reached it. That ominous, looming hunk of metal. The BUNK3R.

Knowing it won’t be long now until Nisha reaches Jack’s office she made quick work. She took out the flashdrive and found the input slot. She inserted the drive and the scanner dinged to life.

“ _Ready for scanning,_ ” the voice notified cheerfully. Throwing all caution to the wind, Rose stepped in, holding her breath as the scanner ran over her body. “ _Scan complete._ ”

"Hey there, gorgeous!" Jack's voice greeted through the speakers.

"Jesus."

“ _ Voice activation required. _ ” Rose took the ECHO recorder out from her pocket and pressed play.

"I love you."

“ _ Accepted. Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Hyperion. _ ” The door closed and the shuttle shook, all signs of the outside disappearing as Rose descended. This was it. She was finally going to meet her.

What the hell is she going to say to her? “I’m a friend of your dad”? Her dad is the reason why she’s in here in the first place, there’s no way she’s going to trust her. But, if she says she’s been sent from the future she’ll think Rose is crazy. Maybe if she says she’s a Vault Hunter? She seemed to have trusted them.

Rose’s thoughts were cut short when the sound of her pounding heart intervened. She’s scared. She doesn’t know why she’s scared, she doesn’t think a girl like her would hurt her. And it’s not like she would have any reason to hurt Rose, this is their first meeting. Her first meeting with the woman that resurrected her abusive father. . . . This isn’t going to work out. Rose knew it wouldn’t. She needs to get out of here. She needs to-

“What are you doing here?” Rose looked up and above her was

_ Angel, Fallen No More. _

"Uh. . . hi, Angel, I'm-"

“Rose Thorne, Pandoran, ex-bar tender for Moxxxi’s, current weapon designer for Hyperion, and girlfriend to Handsome Jack and the Sheriff of Lynchwood. I didn’t ask who you were. I asked what you were doing here.” Though fierce her statement, there was no source of hostility in Angel it seemed more like. . . concern.

Rose has done enough lying for today and obviously Angel’s too smart for it. Might as well tell her the truth. . . or at least most of it.

"I'm here to get you out of here."

“It’s no use, there’s no way I can get out of here. Trust me, I’ve tried. You need to leave before Jack finds you.” The elevator shook and Rose hopped out before the doors had closed.

“Angel, I got Jack distracted right now if you come down right now we’ll be gone before he even notices.”

"And what makes you say that?"

Rose held up the Traveler’s Stone. “This is the Traveler’s Stone. It’s a Vault Relic that’s going to get us out of here.”

“And why should I trust you?” The alarms blared, red lights blasting to life.

“You only have one other choice and I don’t think either of us want that.” Angel paused, her brow furrowing as she glanced from the gigantic monitors back down to Rose. “Angel?”

"Angel?" Jack leered.

Angel quickly made her decision, fluttering down, her tattoos aglow. “I can keep the cameras off, but not for long, I don’t know how that thing works, but wherever you’re taking me you’ll have to take out my Eridium injectors first. I’ve grown a dependency to it so I will need routine injections, but it shouldn’t be long before you can get me off it.” Rose nodded, trying to process the situation still.

“Angel? I thought we talked about this, sweetie. I respect your privacy, but I respect your safety even more,” Jack spoke in a honeyed voice. 

Rose moved behind Angel as she pulled her braid out of the way. In her back was six different injectors, all of them being about the size of an Oz Kit canister.

"Just do it," Angel said.

“Okay. On three.” Rose took a hold of one of the injectors, Angel taking in a deep breath while she did so. “One.” She yanked it out causing Angel to yelp. “Sorry.” Rose grimaced at the sight of the bruise left behind, but continued even when Angel was crying out in pain. Even when the Eridium was eating away at her boots. Even when her hands were stained purple. She didn’t stop until the last injector was removed.

Angel let out a tired sigh. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet."

"Angel, don't make me come down there!"

Angel went limp in Rose’s arms. “Don’t be alarmed, I’m just going into shock,” she said calmly. “Wherever you’re taking me I hope you have Eridium on hand.”

Rose scooped up the girl. “I’m sure we got some lying around.”

“Angel, tell me who’s with you right this minute!” 

Rose got an idea. "Angel, let go."

"What?"

"Let go," Rose repeated more firmly.  In a moment the monitors flickered on, revealing Jack who was obviously taken aback by the sight of Rose.

"Rose? What the hell are you doing in there?!"

“Hey, honey! Me and Angel have something to tell you!” Rose grabbed the Traveler’s Stone one final time. “You’re a _fucking_ asshole!”

In a flash of light, they were gone.


	23. And We're Back!

Rose reappeared seconds later, haggard, clothes and hands stained purple, lipstick she had forgotten to remove still on her lips, and a pale girl in her arms. The two Vault Hunters had questions, but good on them if they could actually pick one.

“Zane, I need you to go down to Earl’s and get his Eridium stash, I don’t care how. Fiona, I need you to find Jack and put him somewhere in this ship where I can’t find him.”

"Wha-" Fiona began.

"In due time, for now, I gotta keep this girl alive."

"Who-?" Zane attempted.

"Now!" Without another word, the two scrambled out of the infirmary and Rose got Angel onto the table.

She blinked. "Who were they?" she asked weakly.

“Vault Hunters,” Rose answered calmly as she opened one of Tannis’s coolers filled with healing syringes.

"Where am I?"

"Sanctuary III."

"What. . . what happened to one? What happened to two?"

“Well, the first one went down after a plant colonization attack as far as I understand. As for the second one. . . well, no one likes to talk about the second one.”

“This- this couldn’t have happened while we were gone.”

“No, it didn’t.” Technically, it did, but Rose decided the girl was confused enough. “This Vault Relic goes through time. I didn’t think you’d believe me if I told you.” Rose took out one of the syringes and gently pressed down on the plunger before thumping the needle, making sure there were no air bubbles.

"You were right. I don't."

“Believe me, kid, I hardly understand it myself, but it works. Trust me, I went through three different timelines before I reached you.” Rose approached Angel and saw her flinch ever so slightly at the needle. She frowned at her reaction. “I know. But this is actual medicine, not whatever Jack’s been pumping through you all these years. It should hold you over until we can smelt the Eridium.”

Angel seemed apprehensive, but allowed Rose to administer the needle anyway. She shut her eyes while Rose rubbed down her arm with rubbing alcohol and without warning, inserted the needle. Rose removed it and disposed of it in the waste bin.

She then decided to maybe try to get rid of the slag on her hands. “You had to go back in time to get me. . . does that mean my plan to stop Jack. . . ?”

Rose went to the sink, detaching her hand and setting it aside. “It worked.” She turned on the faucet, using her elbow to dispense the soap.

"Then. . . why is he still here?"

Rose froze. "What?"

"I heard you. You said 'I need you to find Jack and put him somewhere in this ship where I can't find him'."

Rose paused. "He was always obsessed with immortality. He finally found a way to cheat death." For a long, heart-wrenching moment Angel didn't speak. "Angel?" Rose asked, earning no response. She turned around and saw that the girl was struggling to keep her eyes open. "Angel?"

"Promise me," she whispered. Rose walked up to her and Angel held out her hand. Though, her hand was still wet, she took it. "Promise me he won't come near me."

"I promise."

Tears filled Angel's eyes. "Thank you." Angel's eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off. Rose carefully let go of her hand and finished washing up. After that, she drew up a seat and sat down next to Angel, watching her as she slept, making sure she was breathing.

The corners of Rose's lips pulled upward slightly. "Welcome to Sanctuary, Angel."

* * *

“So, at this point she’s resurrected me, gotten me back into Hyperion power, and somehow convinced the Raiders to let me live. Again. And guess what? She’s still going after her boyfriend which I’m pretty sure she found at a dig site and Moxxi of all people.” Jack took a drag off of his cigarette. “Can you believe that?” he asked, smoke tumbling off of his lips and puffing up into his cardboard twin’s face.

"We _were_ kinda dicks to her," he spoke out of the side of his mouth.

"Yeah, but have you looked at us lately? Or our net worth?" Jack asked himself.

"C'mon. We know Rose. She isn't a gold digger."

"Almost wish she was," he murmured. "Maybe I wouldn't be getting the cold shoulder every time I talked to her then."

"You don't really want that."

Jack sighed. "No. I don't. I'd prefer this than having her lie to me."

"Then stop trying to bribe her, dumb-dumb! Seems like every chance you get you're trying to give her something for the pathetic hope that one day she'll get something new and shiny and confess her undying love for you."

"Is this about the prosthetic? 'Cause you've seen that too, right? That hunk of junk isn't going to last her to the end of the year. . . . If there is an end of the year." Jack looked down at the grimy, metallic flooring as he took in another puff of smoke.

"What do you think you're gonna get out of this? She hates your guts and she hates your plan of escape even more. Are you so far up your ass you're believing your own bullshit now?"

Jack raised his eyebrows at the cardboard cut-out. "I'm talking to myself and you're asking me how far I'm up my own ass?" Jack chuckled rather sadly. "Fuck. I've really lost it, huh?" He tapped off the ash of his cigarette. "Y'know, I used to really look up to those Hyperion old bats when I was younger. They always seemed so successful. So, of course, I tried to be just like them. I analyzed them. Their mistakes, their victories, their destruction. The more they lost, the more they won it seemed. And I am _always_ losing. I mean, look at me.

"Widowed. Girlfriend's dead. Daughter's dead. Friends are either gone or dead. I died twice. My fiancée somehow made it out alive and she hates me. I lost Hyperion twice and might lose it a third time depending on how this plays out and we're all gonna die!" Jack laughed, shaking his head. "I mean, I'm the goddamn hero! I should be overdue for a win, huh?" He leaned against the wall, still cackling away. Eventually, he began to calm down, his sides finally relaxing while he slid down. He looked up at the cut-out. "Wanna know the punchline to that?"

His cardboard twin stood, lifeless as ever. Smoke trickled from Jack's lips. "Villains never win," he delivered with a sad smile.

"You two having a good time?" Jack turned his head, seeing Fiona at the fence of the shooting range.

He stood up. "Havin' a blast." Jack walked over to Fiona and folded his arms over the fence, smiling at her charmingly. "What can we do you for?"

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "You sure you should be smoking that in here?"

"The sprinklers are scorched to shit and nobody's bothered to replace them. That's bandit town for you." He pulled out the carton on him and offered it up. "Want one?"

"I'll pass."

Jack put it away. "Suit yourself."

"You might want to start thinking about putting that out actually. You gotta move."

"I've been on my best behavior, what's the deal?"

"I don't know. Rose wanted you somewhere where she can't find you and going off of the murder in her eyes, I don't think it's best to test her right now."

"Ah, please." He hopped over the fence. "If she wanted to kill me she would've by now." He took one last drag off his cigarette before flicking it away, extinguishing it with his shoe. "But, if the queen sayeth so, fine. I'll leave."

"Have any idea where she wouldn't find you?"

"I've been for as long as you have, but I'm pretty sure I saw a car digistructor downstairs."

"Fine by me." Fiona turned around and began heading downstairs. Jack gave a nod to his bullet-filled friend before shoving his hands into his pockets and following the Traveler.

"So, how'd the Gortys Project go?"

Fiona peered over her shoulder. "You remember that?"

"Yeah, got most of the memories floating around here. You had a nice hat, but," Jack took the hat atop of Fiona's head, "purple's your color." Fiona glared, snatching her hat away from him as he chuckled. 

"Don't think we're pals just because you were in Rhys's head the whole time," Fiona said as she placed her hat on top of her head.

"Oh, come on, we've been through thick and thin, Fi."

The two entered the garage that lucky for them, was fairly empty. "I'm not gullible, unlike Rhys. Whatever you want from me, it's not going to happen."

"And what if I just want to know what's happening up there?"

"Couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." Fiona stepped up to the digistructor and placed in an order for an Outrunner. "Besides, everyone's going to know about that later."

"Later is often too late."

Fiona shot him a look as the Outrunner formed. "Why else do you think I'm here?"

* * *

Jack’s oral fixation proved to be more problematic than most would think. To be Jack you gotta have it all. The charisma, the humor, the cruelty, the bad habits. Which is why Timothy snuck off while no one was looking once he found someone had left out their pack of smokes.

Childish, really. Holed up in what Timothy assumes is the electrics with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter like some damn teenager.

Ever since he started this whole quest the memories haven’t ceased. Atlas had worked hard getting him back to “him” or whatever was left of Timothy Lawrence, but the brainwashing and the years of torture still lingered. They never do leave, they tell him, but that doesn’t make him feel any less like Jack. He got out of Hyperion, popped the mask off, got the freckles back, sure, but honestly? With the way he’s going after Rose and leaving Atlas at the first opportunity that suited him. . . .

Timothy opened the pack up, taking out a cigarette and was going to light it. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He jumped at the sound of Moxxi’s voice. “One spark and we could all go up.”

“Moxxi! I, uh, didn’t see you there,” he said, dropping the pack and the lighter in the process, he went to go pick them up but thought better of it. He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. “What-what brings you here?”

“Noticed you snuck out, wondered what you were up to. No good it seems.”

Timothy chuckled nervously. “Yeah, uh, I don’t handle crowded situations well. Thought I’d go out. . . well, not for air, but you know.”

“I know. This has all been stressful. For all of us. I mean, I haven’t seen the Vault Hunters in such a stir since the Calypsos.”

“It doesn’t really help when literally the most hated man on Pandora is on the ship with us.”

“Don’t remind me.” Moxxi picked up Tim’s cigarettes and lighter and raised an eyebrow. “D’you mind?”

"Isn't it dangerous?"

"I'm a mechanic, I know how to be careful."

Tim didn’t question her further. “Knock yourself out.” Moxxi took a cigarette and placed it between her lips, lighting up the end of it with the lighter. Timothy took in the second hand smoke.

“What do you think about this war on Vault Hunters?”

“I think it’s ridiculous enough to be bullshit, but considering Jack made preparations for it it’s hard not to believe in it.”

“Yeah, but the man also thought committing mass genocide was the answer.”

Timothy paused. "Zarpedon did too."

Moxxi's eyebrows raised. "What?"

“General P. Zarpedon? Leader of the Lost Legion? Used to have the dumbest name in the galaxy?”

"I know who she is, but. . . are you defending her, Timothy?"

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t sacrifice the lives of Helios for the chance of killing Jack. You knew just as well as Zarpedon how much of a danger he was and you tried to prevent it. No matter who was on board that ship.” Moxxi grew silent. “We all have our morals and whether we like it or not they get broken at some point. Whether that’s killing fellow Vault Hunters. Purging a planet. Or bringing back a dictator from the grave and keeping him alive. We don’t need to argue if they’re good, we know they’re not, we just have to think about what we need.”

"And what do we need, Timothy?"

“A goddamned miracle.” Moxxi said nothing, she only handed Timothy her cigarette and he accepted it, taking a long drag off of it.

It was times like these where if she hadn’t known, she’d think he was Jack.

* * *

Zane bolted into the infirmary, an armful of Eridium ready to spill over. “Please for the love o’ god tell me Tannis got a smelter in here!” he said, completely disregarding the sleeping girl in the middle of the room. 

Rose sensed the seriousness and stood up. “Yeah, just over. . .” she paused, remembering she left her left hand at the sink. She pointed with her right. “There.” Zane rushed over to the smelter. “How’d you know we needed it smelt?”

“I didn’t. I just know Earl can’t get his mitts onto it, if it’s nothin’ but liquid. Speakin’ o’ ya may wanna lock the door.”

“Why-” Just as abruptly as Zane

_Earl, Whatchu Lookin’ At?!_

burst in, angry as ever it seemed. There’s a joke here about royal purple and royally pissed, but I’ll leave you to figure that out.

“Whatchu doin’ with my Eridium?!” Rose stepped in between the crazed seller and Zane.

"Earl, I get it, you're mad, but please, we need this Eridium."

“I don’t give a damn if the sky will fall if ya don’t take my Eridium! I want it back!”

“Earl, please be rational about this. A little girl’s life is on the line. Possibly the most important little girl in the world.”

“Not my problem. Now gimme my Eridium!” A block of Eridium was hurled at Earl’s face and he toppled backward. Rose peered over her shoulder at Zane.

"You could've hit me."

"But I didn't, which is the important part."

“How charming. I’ll get the Eridium smelted, you go tie up Earl somewhere.”

"Aww, why do I have to tie him up?"

“You hit it, you hide it.” Rose picked up the block Zane had thrown and tossed it into the smelter. “Now c’mon I don’t think Angel can go that long without Eridium.” Zane paused while picking Earl up.

"Angel? As in Handsome Jack's daughter, Angel?"

“Questions later, for now, I need you to tie up Earl. When you get back I’ll be glad to answer whatever questions you have.”

“I’m holdin’ ya to that.” Zane hauled Earl over his shoulders and exited the medbay.

“Who was that?” Angel asked weakly.

“The crazy guy was Earl, he means well he just. . . has a weird thing with Eridium. The blond one was Zane Flynt. He’s my boyfriend.”

"Flynt as in. . . Captain and Baron Flynt?"

“The only Flynt that ended up somewhat sane. Probably because he had a normal name. . . . I didn’t mean for that to rhyme.” Angel laughed lightly and it was a beautiful sound. Rose turned on the smelter and leaned back onto the countertop, facing Angel. “What do you like to do Angel?”

"Where did that come from?"

“I figure you’ll be holed up here for a while and I know this place isn’t exactly comforting. Maybe I could get you something you like in here.”

Angel mulled the question over. "I like to draw."

“Perfect. I’m pretty sure we got some art supplies lying around here. When you’re feeling a bit better I can bring them in here, keep you occupied.” There was a moment in which neither spoke.

“Why are you being so nice to me? What happened that would make you want to go against someone you were so loyal to?” 

Rose frowned. “A long time ago, before I even knew you existed, your father proposed to me in front of a murderer’s most romantic setting. People getting wiped out because of debt they owed to Jack or taken away to be tortured by him personally later. At that moment I finally saw it. The monster he became. I took a pod down to Pandora and after your father chased me I gave up my hand to get him off my track. Wasn’t long after that when he bit the dust.”

Angel laughed, causing Rose’s eyebrows to draw together. “He really can’t keep a relationship, can he?”

"No. No he can't."

Before either of them could say anything else Fiona came in. “I got him out of the shooting range like you asked.” 

“Thanks, Fiona.” Angel turned her head toward Fiona and the traveler was taken aback. “Fiona, meet Angel, Handsome Jack’s daughter. Angel, meet Fiona, she’s the one that made your rescue possible.”

Angel smiled meekly and waved. "Hello."

“Hi. I uh. . . didn’t know Jack had a daughter. And a Siren one at that.”

"I didn't know time travel was possible."

“We’re both learning new things today,” Fiona said with an awkward smile.

Angel's eyelids became heavy once again. "Thank you for getting me out of there." It wasn't long until she was out cold.

Fiona slowly turned to Rose. “Handsome Jack’s daughter?”

“Locked up, pumped full of Eridium, and used for his own dirty work. Angel died before ever having any sort of childhood. It was a mere perk all the items you gave me added up.”

"God. How could he have done that? To your own daughter-"

"Not mine. His first wife's."

"First? There was more? Who else married that guy?"

“I almost did, so watch your mouth, kiddo.” Rose cringed. “Ew. Sorry, I don’t know what the kiddo streak is all about today.”

“Can’t exactly think it’s your fault, you’ve been trapped with him for this long.”

“Yeah, but, that’s the thing, I wouldn’t have to be trapped with him if it wasn’t for me.”

“And God knows what would’ve happened if you didn’t do all of this in the first place. That Siren really stressed he should be kept alive.”

“Well, I have to hand it to her, she gave me the opportunity to bury my one regret. Now I have a whole new one I can worry about.”

* * *

Zane finished up tying Earl up. The hardest part was getting the old bastard into the chair in the first place. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, but he was heavy. Though, dead weight is always heavier than actual weight.

The Operative shut the door, putting Earl’s locks back into place. “Sorry, Earl, you crazy old goon,” Zane whispered, almost to himself. “M’sure Ellie’ll let you out if you ask nicely. . . oh, who am I kiddin’ that ain’t gonna happen.” Zane went to return to Rose when he noticed the Outrunner sitting in the garage, the windows fogged up.

Well, that can mean two things. Someone’s trying to asphyxiate themselves or someone’s trying to do something. . . slightly less unsavory in one of Ellie’s cars. Zane rushed to the Outrunner and knocked on the window. “Open up!” The windows rolled down, cigarette smoke billowing out. Zane coughed, waving the cloud out of his face. Eventually the smoke dispersed, unveiling Jack, feet up on the dash, grinning, and smoking a cigarette.

" 'Sup?"

"What the hell are you doin' here?"

"Eh, got kicked out of the shooting range."

"So you tried to asphyxiate yourself?"

“I was gonna roll the windows down until you rudely interrupted my train of thought.”

"Sor-ry, your highness."

"You should be."

Zane rolled his eye. “Yeah, alright, nice seein’ ya, boyo, have fun wit’ your lung cancer.” Zane turned his back on the car, approaching the stairs when Jack spoke up again.

"How's Rose doing?"

Zane looked over his shoulder. "Why do you care?"

"Whether you like to believe it or not, I still care about her."

Zane laughed. “If you really cared ‘bout her you wouldn’t threaten her happiness just to be wit’ you.”

"And she's so ecstatic to be in this hellhole?"

“I’m just sayin’, she seemed a lot more relaxed when she got here than she did when I saw ‘er wit’ you.”

Jack shrugged. "We're going through a rough patch."

"Seems you've _been_ in a rough patch."

“And where’s yours?” Zane paused. “Rough patches are there for a reason. It’s all the built up tension finally coming out and you can either learn from it or continue to make each other unhappy. Rose and I go way back and I’ve been gone for like a decade so it only makes sense she’s still snapping at me. But, what about you? Haven’t seen you have any conflict despite Rose’s inability to tell you the truth, or the nightmares she’ll wake up crying about in the middle of the night that you don’t even know about, or her running away from you every chance she gets.”

" _She's_ runnin' away from _me?"_

“You had to hunt her down _twice_ and the last time it took nearly all of Sanctuary to convince her to get away from me.”

“That’s ‘cause you threatened to hurt us otherwise, arsehole.”

“Really?” Jack took a drag from his cigarette. “Even when she knew my armed forces were wiped out by you?” Zane said nothing. “It seems like she was scared of something else. Maybe it was the fear of having to come back to that miserable boyfriend of her’s, knowing she’ll have to put up with his bullshit while pretending as if everything’s alright.” Jack leaned forward, sticking his head out the window. “Tell me, blondie. Has she ever talked about any of this with you? I mean, really talked. Or has she been putting it off?”

"Why would she do that?"

Jack leaned back into the car. "I don't know. Maybe she just can't trust you anymore. Least with me she's honest. Brutally honest, but honest nonetheless."

Zane shook his head. “I don’t need this shite from you.” Zane left it at that, jogging up the stairs toward the infirmary.

“Come back if you want to know everything Rose told me while you were gone!” Jack relished in the way Zane’s jaw clenched at his words.

* * *

Fiona whistled. “This is one hell of a smelter, once this cools I think it’s just about ready to put into an IV.”

“Hopefully, that’ll be soon enough,” Rose said, looking down at Angel worriedly. She’s started to develop a fever, a cold sweat racking her entire body. Rose had gotten an ice pack, but it didn’t seem to do much. “I wonder if we have any fresh clothes on board for her. I can’t imagine this is comfortable.”

“I’m sure people will be willing to chip in once they understand her purpose.”

Rose gave Fiona an incredulous look. "We hardly even know her purpose, how are we supposed to explain it to everyone else?"

“ Easy, ‘the Siren that’s going to save us all’.” Just then Angel moaned in her sleep, her jaw clenching while her brow furrowed. 

Rose frowned. “That’s too heavy of a title for a girl and I think it might be too similar to whatever crap Jack was trying to feed her.”

Fiona shrugged. "It's what my advisor told me. Everything else she's said has worked."

“And did she say anything else? Like how this is all going to work out?”

“Well. . . no, but this is all going a lot better than the previous attempts. I think this might be the one.”

"And if it's not?"

"Then we try again."  Rose wasn’t satisfied with this answer, but she really was too tired to argue about it.

Angel moaned again and Rose looked down at the girl, concerned. Soothingly, she brushed her hair out of her face. Angel’s eyes shot open and Rose found that she had her father’s eyes. Angel muttered something under breath and Rose leaned down to hear her better.

"What was that?"

"Burning," Angel repeated, her eyes unfocused.

"What?"

“Burning.” Without warning, Angel began to thrash. “Burning! Burning! They’re all burning!” she screamed.

Rose looked up at Fiona in panic. “Fiona! Go get a sedative! Tannis keeps her backups in the shipping dock! Go! Now!” Fiona didn’t waste any time getting out of the infirmary. Rose went to hold Angel down, but remembered she had set her hand aside. Rose grabbed Angel’s hand and opted for comfort.

"Angel? Can you hear me?"

“Everyone! They’re all in flames! Because of her. Because of her. Because of me!”

“Hey, hey, Angel. Angel, you’re okay-”

“You’re all going to die because of me! You’re going to die because of me!”

“Angel, listen to me, I’m right here, no one’s-”

“Take it away! Take it away! TAKE IT AWAY!” Angel grabbed Rose’s wrist and the next thing that happened was something. . . indescribable. White, hot, burning pain. Power not unlike the surge of the Traveler’s Stone flowing through Rose, eliminating any and all surroundings. Rose was surprised to find herself still standing by the end of it.

Angel was now slowly coming back down, her chest rising and falling as her eyelids dropped back down. Something was. . . different about her, but Rose couldn’t-

Rose froze, looking down at her hands in horror. Hands. Hands. HAND-S. MORE THAN ONE HAND.

On her left, there was a. . . transparent hand with white tattoos, the other a glow with golden markings. Fiona’s advisor she- she had the same markings. . . the same voice, the same body. The same goddamn person.

Rose felt like she was going to faint and going off the amount of black spots she was seeing she just might. But, one thing cut through the terror and panic. The sound of approaching footsteps. Hurriedly, Rose unrolled the sleeves of her white button up, hiding the tattoos. She held her hands behind her back and stepped in front of Angel. The door slid open. Enter, Zane.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Everythin’ alright, love?”

"Never better."

"I just heard a lot o' screamin'."

“Angel was having a nightmare, seemed like a nasty one.” 

Zane didn’t seem quite convinced, but he continued. “Speakin’ o’ Angel,” Zane crossed over to a chair, Rose making sure she kept her hands out of his sight, “think you promised me some answers,” he said as he plopped down.

"Well, what do you want to know, Zane?"

"What happened to her tattoos?"


	24. Close Counters

"Y'know, if you’re a time traveler how come you didn’t think to just go get me my cloaking mod? I mean, I wouldn’t have to be hitting the deck every time Moxxi’s daughter starts scouting the area.”

“Not my problem,” Fiona said dismissively, grabbing a sedative from the stash.

“Hey, uh, where’re you heading? I mean, not like I’m losin’ my friggin’ mind over not hearing anything about my fiancee or anything, but that’s totally happening. What the hell is going on?”

Fiona rolled her eyes. “You’ll find out whenever everybody else does. Just sit tight until then. In fact, with the way Rose is talking, sit tight after that. We got other priorities.”

"Like Eridium?"

Fiona slowly turned to Jack in confusion. “How’d you-”

“You and blondie both reek of it. Got like a weird sweet toxic smell to it, you can’t mistake it.”

Fiona shook her head. “It’s none of your business, man.” Jack leaned out of the window, crossing his arms over the frame.

“The only reason you’d need that much Eridium is to power something incredibly strong. Like uh. . . one of your Siren friends, right?” Fiona remained silent. “Ignore me all you want, I’m right, aren’t I?”

"Why does it matter to you?"

“ ‘Cause, if you let me in on your plan here, I can lend a hand. I guarantee you I had the same thought.”

Fiona placed a hand on her hip. “Oh, yeah? And what is that?”

“Juicing up the Sirens so that they can fend off the monsters while we - this including me and I guess your bandit pals - make a getaway. Huh? What’d you say, sweetheart?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll pass, considering just how well everything went with you and Rhys.” Fiona took the first step on the stairs.

“And where’s Rhys now, cupcake?” She paused. “ ‘Cause he’s not here with you, is he? Tell me, Fi, what really happened after you opened the Vault? Hm? Did something happen that you didn’t like? Was it the fact that Rhys kept me after everything I did to you and your sister and all of those ‘innocent’ people?” He struck a nerve. Jack grinned. “It is, isn’t it?”

"It was supposed to happen."

“But it still hurts, doesn’t it? In order to fulfill your bullshit prophecy one of your only friends had to betray you.” Jack laughed. “How sad is that?”

“You’re really telling me how sad _my_ life is? You’re hiding in an Outrunner that reeks of cigarette smoke so that your ‘fiancée’ won’t find you and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You’re a sad sack, Jack. Time for you to grow up and face it.” With that, Fiona left. Jack slouched into the driver’s seat, scowling. She was right, of course, but it still hurt.

Maybe it’s time to hang up the "asshole that makes you question your entire life" act. It amused him for like five seconds the first time and the second time he was the one questioning everything. That’s what he gets for trying that on Fiona of all people he supposes.

Jack huffed, grabbing another cigarette and lighting it. “What the hell are you doing here?” Jack turned, seeing Timothy who was just jogging down the stairs.

“I’m minding my own goddamn business, how about you, Timmy?”

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you!" Jack inhaled deeply, before taking the cigarette from his mouth. “What the hell’s on your face?”

"I thought we were minding our own goddamn business."

“I am, I just feel like Moxxxi’s lipstick doesn’t really suit you. We’re a spring, Timmy, not an autumn.”

Tim took the end of his sleeve and wiped off the lipstick from his cheek. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Relax, kiddo, it looks like you got a pity kiss. Trust me, I know where Moxxi marks when it’s something more than that.”

"Did not need to know that."

Jack shrugged. “You looked like you needed some assurance. You look high-wired, kid. Here.” Jack offered up the pack. “Take a cigarette.”

"I don't smoke anymore."

“Fine. Suit yourself, but you might want to take a lap or something.”

"I'll do whatever I like," Timothy snapped.

“Then why aren’t you with Rose?” Whoops, guess Jack just can’t drop it today.

"What?"

“C’mon, kid, it’s not like I’m oblivious to you makin’ eyes at her. In fact, most people aren’t. I think literally everyone knows you have the hots for her.”

“If that were true we wouldn’t be here now. I’d be up there with Rose.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think she'd want you?"

"What makes you think she'd want _you?"_

“I don’t even know anymore, Tim, but the things I do know is she hates lookin’ at me. She says she hates being with me. It scares her, really. And she values you, kiddo, she really does. But, if I had to guess,” Jack took a long drag, letting the smoke trickle back out of him, “you remind her too much of me.” Timothy sighed, his face twisted in anger, a face Jack knew all too well. “And before you go on a ‘it’s all my fault’ spiel, let me say this: I’m sorry. And I know that means fuck all, but it’s the best I can offer. I’m sorry, kid. I screwed you over. Big time. And there’s nothing I can do to make up for that.”

Now Timothy seemed conflicted. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to just take a swing at Jack, but something was stopping him. And it doesn’t seem like Jack’s shitty apology. Or maybe it was. Timothy needs validation more than anything and Jack just admitted everything that the Jack-ification wasn’t really his fault. And there’s nothing else but to move forward which is what Tim has always done.

In the process of taking in that information, Timothy’s mouth was opening and closing, not unlike a fish out of water. “Okay, kiddo, either scream at me or don’t you’re kinda distracting me.”

Timothy sneered. “ _You’re an asshole!”_ he finally spat out.

Jack smiled sadly. "I know."

Timothy began ascending the stairs toward the shooting range. “ _I hope you get airlocked while I’m gone, you psychotic fucking chode!”_

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too, Timmy.” Timothy left and Jack was alone again. He wonders who else will come down here who he’ll hurt one way or another. God, he’s an asshole. Can’t even keep a conversation with someone without someone walking out angry.

It was quiet for a long while until the sound of a door opening rang out through the angry garage once again. Jack sunk down in the case that Ellie had come back. He took the cigarette from his mouth and extinguished it into the ashtray, silently counting the footsteps as they gradually descended the staircase.

There was a quiet sigh. “I heard Timothy shouting in here. Where are you?” Jack sat up, seeing none other than Rose who seemed. . . disheveled to say the least and smelling of Eridium.

“Here I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

"I don't. I want you out."

“There’s nowhere else I could go where you won’t be able to find me, sweetheart. Besides, pretty sure I’m gonna get clocked if I go anywhere else.”

“This isn’t. A suggestion.” Jack slowly gave her a once-over, sensing something different about her. 

Her sleeves were rolled down. This whole adventure and she never unrolled her sleeves. He’d bet it was because she wasn’t cold, but considering she’s never done this this whole time, he doesn’t think that’s true.

“What’s with you, blondie, and Fi all stinking of Eridium? You all going to the same place or something?”

"And what if we are?"

“Well, I want to know where the Siren is.” Rose’s hands drove themselves further into her pockets.

"You don't get to know."

Jack grinned. “So, there is a Siren on board?” Rose stood there for a moment in silence before quickly throwing open the door, taking Jack by the arm and dragging him out of the car and toward the nearest exit.

“I don’t care where you go, Jack, but you can’t stay here.”

“You need the one place that’s away from everyone else? Are you hiding from something, Rosebud?”

"That's none of your business."

“Oh, no?” He grabbed onto hand and pulled her to a stop.

"Let go of me."

“There’s a Siren on board this ship and you’re supplying them with Eridium.”

"And? How does that apply to you?"

“We stick with the plan, pumpkin. We get the Siren all powered up, pit them against the Guardians and get our asses to Junpai-7 just in time for Happy Hour.”

"I told you I'm not doing that."

“Rosebud, wouldn’t you-. . . your hand is warm.”

"What?"

“Your prosthetic, it doesn’t hold heat unless it’s blistering.” Jack didn’t look down. He was waiting for Rose to explain it to him.

"The infirmary is warm."

“The infirmary? Why have you been in the infirmary?” Jack questioned.

“We’re keeping the Siren there. She’s weakened.”

“Pumpkin, you’re a fantastic liar, if we weren’t together for as long as we were, I wouldn’t even bat an eye, but I know your tricks. What are you trying to hide from me, Rosebud?” Rose looked down silently, her jaw clenched. Jack’s face slowly fell in realization. “No.” Rose remained silent. “You’re not. . . you can’t be.” Rose remained quiet. Jack’s gaze fell down onto her hand and it was like the air had been sucked out of the room. “How. . . . Wait a minute.” His eyes ran along her hand then he pulled up her sleeve. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.” Jack grabbed her collar and that’s when she grabbed his wrist with her other hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the second tattoos, but he decided to put that aside for the moment. “Let me see. Please.”

"You already know what's there."

Jack’s expression turned stern. “Where is she?” A pause. He grabbed Rose’s hands tightly. “Where is she?!”

"You can't see her, Jack."

"She's my daughter!"

“And she’s terrified of you! That poor girl is sitting up there, praying that she never has to see you again! And if you love her, you’ll stay out of her sight.” This was the first time in a long time where Jack’s eyes began to fill with tears.

“Rose, please. I’m begging you. I just need to see her. I just want to see my baby girl again. Let me- let me make things right again, please.”

"You can't make it right, Jack-"

"LET ME TRY!"

Rose sucked in a breath. “You’re hurting me, Jack.” He let go of her hands. An uncomfortable silence hung between as they continued to stare into one another’s eyes.

"Let me see her. Please."

"I can't even go up there, Jack."

“And why not? You ashamed of your new Siren powers that you took from her?!”

“I didn’t take them. She gave them to me.”

"What?"

“She was. . . having a nightmare, she was thrashing around and I tried to calm her down, but she grabbed onto me and the next thing I knew I had this.” She gestured to her hands. “I didn’t have a choice.”

"You were given a gift-"

“That I don’t want and neither did your daughter, not after what you did to her.”

Jack’s expression softened, something odd to see. “What’s making you afraid of this? Did Flynt say something-”

"It's not that."

“Then what is it? You fled the scene before anyone noticed ‘cause of something.”

“I. . .” Rose sighed, “everything that’s happened has created a whole new discussion between me and everyone. Discussions I haven’t been able to finish yet because the next thing I know, you’re alive, or I’m driving you to Opportunity, or I got a call from you in the middle of the night, or I withheld information about the War, or. . . .”

"Rose?"

“Or I’ve protected you all this time and I still don’t have an answer for it. Or I’m able to tell you things I haven’t told Zane. Or I haven’t told him everything about what’s happened between us.”

Jack surveyed Rose closely before taking a step forward. “And what has happened?”

Rose’s heart pounded against her chest. “You’re still the same old piece of shit I’ve always known. And I. . . still care about you.” Wordlessly, Jack took her left hand, running his thumb across the back of it affectionately and slowly leaned in. Hesitantly, Rose did the same. They closed their eyes and kissed. It’s not quite passionate or lustful, but I believe the best word would be desperate. Two people that haven’t shared an intimate moment in decades finally letting everything go.

* * *

Moze raised an eyebrow. “Is this good?” she asked, gently removing the paint brush from FL4K’s hand, allowing them to see their “painted nails”.

"It's messy, but I think that suits me."

“Good enough for me.” Moze placed the brush back into the water jar and put it up high where the beasts can’t get them. “I appreciate you letting me stay over for the night, FL4K. I just feel antsy being alone tonight.”

“It’s no problem. I’ve been enjoying these sleepover rituals.”

“I’m glad. So, uh, wanna try out a movie? I missed out on most of them so I know basically as much as you.”

“I don’t know, it’s past their bedtime,” the bot referred to their beasts, all of which were slowly settling down in their sleeping nooks. “The flashing lights and the audio will keep them up far longer than they should.”

Moze mulled this over. “I could go get a board game or like a pack of cards if that’s your thing.”

“I am content with that. As long as it’s not Vertical Integration. I despise that game.”

“I’m pretty sure we shot that out of an airlock after me, Zane, and Amara got hammered.”

FL4K let out a mimicked breath in relief. “Ah, yes, I had nearly forgotten about that. That was one of your best decisions while intoxicated.”

“I would say that was because of a unanimous decision, but I think we’re actually dumber when we’re together.”

“Statistically, we have made worse decisions while together, but they’ve also worked out. Usually.”

“That’s what makes us so great in my opinion.” Moze laughed and FL4K sympathetically shook their shoulders to express laughter. They really needed to look into features like that for them. “Alright, I’m gonna head out, don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone.”

“No guarantees.” Moze smiled and shoved her hands into her pockets and strolled out of FL4K’s room in search of a board game. She went poking around, going through lockers and boxes, coming up empty for the most part. She then entered Hammerlock’s room that was currently unoccupied and found a huge stack to choose from. She went to go browse when she received a message from Amara.

" 'Mar?"

"Hey."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No. You?"

"No. I've been hanging out with FL4K."

“Well, I’m glad you two are safe at least and back on Sanctuary.”

"Yeah. How's Maya's?"

“Quiet and. . . overwhelmingly powerful with whatever it is that remains of her.”

Moze sat back, leaning onto her arms. “I can’t even imagine what it’s like to still feel her there.”

“It’s. . . a weird feeling to say the least.”

"How's Ava and Tannis?"

“Tannis hasn’t taken a break ever since she found out about the War. Ava’s still wanting to be more involved, but I can’t really do anything else other than tell her to practice.”

“Well, if this War is anything like it sounds, she’ll be able to get that desire out.” 

Amara paused. "Are you scared, Moze?"

Moze drew her knees to her chest. “Terrified. No one’s telling us anything other than the one person that put this all in motion had to be Rose.”

"It's definitely not comforting."

“Me and FL4K have been coming up with distractions for it, but they don’t really last.”

Amara smiled slightly. “What sleepover activity are you on right now?”

"Board games. Why? Got a suggestion?"

“I say go grab Tina. She’s always full of fun campaigns.”

"Aren't those really long?"

“They can be. But, I know for a fact you won’t be thinking about Rose for long after that.” And just like that, Amara left. After a moment, Moze got up from the hardwood floor and ran out. 

"Ay, yo, Tina!"

* * *

Fiona honestly is starting to rethink her life choices. I mean, just minutes ago she was this mysterious, all-knowing time traveler and now her Traveling Stone is around the neck of a person that just can’t be not-missing. 

Of course, everything has led up to Rose, but really? Fiona’s knowledge of her is very little. Fiona has faith in her advisor but. . . who knows? Maybe Rose was right. Maybe she’s not the one for the job.

Nevertheless, Fiona’s in an infirmary with an unconscious girl and no Stone. What else is there to do other than browse the ECHOnet for some catchup? Some memes she’s seen before began to make some sense as well as some political occurrences, but it was nothing major. Just enough to make her mind go numb enough to be startled by someone calling her.

It was a number she hadn’t seen in a while. She had honestly forgotten she had given it to him. Frowning ever so slightly, she pressed call.

"Fiona?" Rhys asked in a desperate voice.

"Hey there, Rhys."

“Fiona! I’m so glad you’re okay! After we opened that chest I was so worried. Where have you been?!” he asked enthusiastically. “Wait, wait! Before you say anything I gotta get Sasha and Vaughn in here!” The sound of Rhys’s racing footsteps and the distant sound of him calling out for their friends was all that remained on the line.

Fiona was kind of excited, though she doesn’t really know what to expect on the other line. She hasn’t heard anything from Vaughn or Sasha since the Vault. She doesn’t know how they’ll react knowing that she’s back after all these years. . . . Maybe she should just hang up. I mean, who’s to say that they even knew she left? Fiona’s thumb hovered over the button to hang up when she heard her sister’s voice.

"Fiona?"

"Hey, Sasha."

Sasha gasped. “Oh my- Vaughn! Get over here! Rhys isn’t crazy this time!” Fiona chuckled, envisioning the glare he must be sending his sister.

Vaughn ran over. “Fiona! Bro! We’ve missed you so much!”

“You don’t have to yell, Vaughn,” Sasha chastised. 

“Sasha, we haven’t heard from Fiona in years, we gotta make her go deaf with our praise to make up for lost time.”

“You know, he might have a point,” Rhys said.

“It will bug the hell out of her. . .” Sasha said.

“Don’t make me come over there,” Fiona warned.

“Don’t threaten us with a good time, Fi,” Sasha said, laughter in her voice. “Where have you been? I’ve literally been through the whole galaxy looking for you. Well. Not the whole galaxy. I hadn’t touched Nekratefayo yet because honestly? That place is weird.”

“Eh, you wouldn’t have found me. Turns out the travel part of the Vault of the Traveler meant time travel. I was sent way back in time and had to fix a few things along the way to get here.”

There was a pause. “Then how come we found Rhys on Promethea not too long after the Vault?” Vaughn asked.

“Well. . . now that I think about it. . . I only showed up a little while before Sasha found me. It was just such a short amount of time I just. . . didn’t think much of it.”

“Aw, how come you got to be deserted in the future?” Fiona whined jokingly.

The four talked and it was as if no time had passed. They were all back in the caravan, sharing stories of their lives and laughing and purely enjoying their company. The Gortys family was back for the most part and Fiona couldn’t remember a time where she was this happy. Even with the looming fact of Rhys’s betrayal.

* * *

She left again. She choked on her words and came up with some sort of excuse to slip away and Zane allowed her to again. He doesn’t want to put up limitations for his partner, he wants her to live her own life. . . but he also wants to be a part of it. If he keeps letting her slip away like this he’s afraid he’s going to lose her.  Which. . . . 

When it comes to partners with Zane he’s pretty easy-going. Very few breakups ended in him in tears. The result of years of toxic masculinity he supposes. Still. If Rose leaves for good. . . he doesn’t know how he’s going to handle it. It’s putting him on edge just thinking about it. But, at the end of the day, he wants to respect her choices. No matter how much it hurts him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and dragged his fingers down, sighing heavily. 

"Trouble in paradise?"

He turned to see none other than Moze. “What do you want?” he asked bluntly.

“Nothing. Just out for a break from Tina’s campaign. We got a little into it. What’s up with you, though?”

“Nothing you’d care about. Like you said. Trouble in paradise.” Silence settled in between the two Vault Hunters. 

Moze leaned onto the railing with Zane. “Look, man, I know. . . I’ve said some regretful things, but I’ve just been worried about you and our team.” Zane scoffed. “We’ve all done some regretful things and we have our own reasons for it. I’m sure Rose has plenty, but it wasn’t my business to pry, I just. . . I just don’t want anything to happen. You guys have been there with me for all of this and I don’t want to lose you now.”

Zane paused. "D'you think. . . ? Ah, nevermind."

"What?"

Zane waved a dismissive hand. “Nothin’. Doesn’t matter.” An awkward silence swept in. Moze couldn’t handle it for long. 

She stood up. “I’m gonna head back. Pretty sure Tina can squeeze you into the party if you’d like to join.”

"I'll stay behind."

"You sure?"

“Yeah. Go on without me.” Hesitantly, Moze left, leaving Zane with nothing but the hissing of the haphazardly patched pipes and his own thoughts.

_ “Face it. She’d leave you in a heartbeat if he was back. _ ”


	25. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't y'all just love it when a villain in bl3 never actually died and they're now living their best life while trying to redeem themselves?

_Wainwright Hammerlock-Jakobs, three names, thrice as deadly_

Had been staring at the portrait for a while, unsure about what to do with it. It was in his family’s mansion and had hung there for years even during some. . . controversial events. The portrait in particular was that of a cousin of his. A late cousin he should say. A late cousin and her husband. Though, she wasn’t heir to Jakobs, she did marry into an Hyperion employee which with the young man’s potential to rise up to the top of the corporate ladder it could’ve meant a huge merge with Hyperion and Jakobs. At the time, that was a good thing. Now Wainwright couldn’t ever think of it.

Though, this was not the problem for the portrait other than its state of damage. As you could have guessed, the portrait portrayed Wainwright’s late cousin and her husband, Handsome Jack. 

Wainwright doesn’t really know what to do with it. His family had kept it more than likely as a tribute for his cousin, but now she wasn’t even in it thanks to some late-night drinking with his aunt. But. . . shouldn’t he keep it too? He is a Jakobs and the Jakobs never wanted to take it down, but they’re practically all gone now. However, for the same reasons he should have the right to just toss it out. Especially with the recent news.

“Still mulling over that dreadful thing?” Wainwright turned around to face his husband,

_Sir Hammerlock-Jakobs, locked and lawfully loaded._

Alistair handed Wainwright a glass full of whiskey and he gratefully accepted it. “I just don’t know. Think I could get it mended then maybe. . . cut? Would that be fair to her?”

“The dead no not of our deeds. Besides, I don’t think it’s right to torture yourself over this thing, Winny. It’s a mere decoration.”

Wainwright raised an eyebrow at his husband as he took a sip of his drink. “Would you want it in here?”

“Heavens no. But. . . I want to respect your choice. Even if I do have to live with Handsome Jack staring at me at any part of the room.” Alistair shifted from left to right as if he could find a point of perspective where Jack’s eyes didn’t follow.

“No, no. I’ll get rid of it. That’s final.”

"Are you sure?"

“Yes. No. Maybe. Damnit, Alistair why did you have to ask me?”

“I don’t want you to do anything you’d regret! Is that so terrible?”

“No. Just- I’m ain't mad at you. Everything’s just been madder than hatters lately and this portrait’s not making it any better. But if I get rid of it, there goes my cousin. Again.” Alistair thought for a moment, looking over the portrait yet again.

"We may need a third opinion."

“I know you’re not talking about who I think you are.”

“She knew him better than either of us, Winny. Maybe she knew her too. Besides, she lived here with this thing.”

Wainwright huffed. "Alright. Call her up."

"Are you sure?"

"Alistair."

“Alright, alright.” Hammerlock marched over to the phone and dialed up

_Aurelia Hammerlock, Icy Hot._

She finished up the nail she was painting, adding slight pressure to her footrest. “Phone call! Do be quiet, will you? Thank you, dear.” Aurelia reached over and put the receiver to her ear, holding it with her shoulder as she continued to paint her nails. “You’ve reached Aurelia Hammerlock. If this is another death threat you may come to my state of address, but I must warn you I am rather booked at the moment.”

"Aurelia, it's me."

“Alistair! How are you settling in? How’s my dear brother-in-law?”

“Fine and uh. . . he may need some warming up still.”

"Shame. Not exactly my forte."

“Yes, yes, ice jokes, how humorous. Let’s cut to the chase. We’re having a slight problem right now with redecorations and need your opinion.”

“My opinion? My, you must be desperate.”

“Yes. . . well, you are familiar with the Handsome Jack portrait, yes?”

Aurelia’s smile faded. “Get his silly title out of your mouth, Alistair. He was not a part of our family. John Jakobs was and he is long dead.”

"No matter. You know of the portrait?"

"Yes. What about it?"

“Well, Wainwright is having troubles. It’s the only portrait of his cousin, but her face is damaged. He doesn’t know whether to throw it out or not.”

"Well, it is a portrait, right?"

"Correct. . . ?"

“Get a reference, get a new one commissioned with my gracious compensation money I gave you, and toss it out,” Aurelia said simply.

"Oh. Oh, that would work, wouldn't it?"

Aurelia grinned. “Where would you be without me, Alistair?” There was a small silence. “Don’t answer that. Anywho, is that all? I’d more than love to chat with you, dear brother, but I’m afraid I have some business to attend to.” She blew on her nails and the paint dried instantly.

"Yes, that will be all. Goodbye, Aurelia."

"Hold on. Don't I get a 'thank you'?"

Hammerlock sighed. “Thank you, Aurelia,” he said reluctantly.

“You’re very welcome, my darling brother. Goodbye, Alistair!” Aurelia said in singsong. “Send Wainwright my loathing,” she added.

“Will do.” With that, Alistair hung up. Aurelia popped the brush back into the bottle and set it aside, gazing down at her “footrest” aka a straggling COV that thought they could ambush her.

“Alright, I think you spent enough time under my boot. Scram!” They rushed out of Aurelia’s mansion.

"The COV will hear about this!"

Aurelia waved pleasantly. “Give them my best regards!” She has to say, leaving them alive is proving to be much more amusing. The phone rang again and she didn’t think much of it, reaching over as she examined her nails. “You’ve reached Aurelia Hammerlock. I’m no longer looking for Vault Hunters, but if this is a death threat you can try to fulfill it at my state of address.”

“You saved Elpis a while back, right?” a feminine voice said. A rather familiar feminine voice.

“Yes.” Aurelia furrowed her eyebrows. “Who is this?”

“How would you feel about saving the universe?”

Aurelia pondered on this. “Who’s asking?”

“People need you, Aurelia. If you want to help, get a ship down to Pandora. War is coming.” Aurelia suddenly recognized the voice. 

Her mouth fell agape slightly. “Where have you-?” She hung up. Aurelia was frustrated, but she put that aside for now, dialing up her brother.

"What is it now?"

"She's back, Alistair!"

"Who's back?"

* * *

_Pickles, Jar-Normous!_

Slid out from underneath the car, wiping his face with a rag. “Well?”

_Janey Springs, Business Owner/Children’s Book Author/Guardian/Wife/Certified Ass-Kicker._

She started up the car and it sputtered. Pickles huffed, disappearing underneath the car once again. “I jus’ don’t understand what I’m missin’.” Janey climbed out of the car and layed down onto the ground.

“Didja check the whosamawhatsit?”

“I’ve checked the whosamawhatsit, the whatchamacallit, the doover, the thingamajig, the doodad, and whatnot and nothin’s workin’.” Janey took a board and slid under with Pickles, getting a better view of the situation.

After a quick survey, she found it. “You forgot the thingo.”

Pickles lightly slapped the side of his forehead with his palm. “Crikey, I’m a deadset bogan,” he muttered, getting to work with the thingo as Janey slid out, an amused smile on her face. She gave the boy a moment before hovering over the ignition again.

"Ready?"

“Jus’ a mo’. . . ready!” Janey turned on the ignition and it thrummed to life.

“Not bad, ‘lil dill,” Janey praised just as 

_Athena Springs, Ex-Vault Hunter, Full-Time Partner_

Walked into the workshop with sandwiches. “You go wash up and eat.” Janey switched off the ignition and hopped over the hood of the car to greet her wife.

“Yes, ma’am!” Pickles rolled out once more from beneath the car and jogged over to the bathroom. “Afternoon, Athena,” he greeted.

Athena nodded toward him. “Afternoon.” Pickles disappeared, leaving the couple in the garage. “Hi, darling.”

“Hey, love.” Athena kissed Janey in greeting before handing her her sandwich.

“How’s that car coming along?” Athena asked while she tucked in.

“Great now that Pickles’s started that apprenticeship.”

“Told you an extra pair of hands wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he seems a lot happier now that he has something to preoccupy himself with.”

Janey smiled. “I’m a lot happier. Training Dill to take on his own business got me mind off things. Everyone knows this week’s been hectic.”

"Well, didn't you hear?"

“No?” Janey took a bite of her sandwich, sitting herself down on the hood of a car. “Oh, no, what happened now?”

“Nothing bad for once. Couple of Vault Hunters stormed Opportunity, wiped out a ton of Hyperion bastards and supposedly they took Handsome Jack with them.”

Janey’s eyebrows bounced up. “They didn’t kill him?”

“Apparently not. My guess he has some information they need. Or they’re going to torture him.”

“I still think it’s bonkers he’s the same guy that saved me an’ Pickles’s skin back on Elpis.” Athena gave her wife a look. “Well, got you to save Elpis for the most part. Still. I wouldn’t have pinned him to be the nutter that was plannin’ to wipe out Pandora.”

“None of us really did. I’m just glad I got us out before things got too heated.” Athena finished up her sandwich and crumpled up the plastic wrap, tossing it into the wastebasket.

“D’you think we’re gonna have to live under his rule again?”

“No, I’ll have us halfway across the galaxy by then.” Athena strolled over and sat next to Janey.

“You think we can manage that? I know my business has been successful and I actually got some people willing to publish _Baby Kraggon and Baby Skag Go to a Bandit Camp_ , but budget’s tight. Always has been.”

Athena smiled reassuringly, caressing Janey’s cheek. “I’ll pull some strings, get us something cozy.”

Janey chuckled. "This isn't cozy?"

“I like to think of it as rustic.” The couple beamed at each other, leaning in for a loving kiss when Pickles piped up from behind them.

“Don’t mean to disturb you, Mrs. Springses, but you got a call.”

Athena raised an eyebrow. "From who?"

* * *

_Lorelei, Lean, Mean, Coffee Machine._

“See, all I’m sayin’ is that we don’t know where the hell Jack is or if the Vault Hunters even took ‘em. It’s probably best if we keep our people where they are.”

_Yvette, Strategy Consultant and Brunch Brat_

Scoffed. “And put valuable assets at risk? Listen, I trust Rhys just as much as you do, Lorelei, but let’s face it, he doesn’t make the best decisions. That’s why we’re here. I say, draw back, regroup, and reinforce, send some back out to make sure Opportunity is clear. This could be our chance to overthrow one of Hyperion’s cities and make it our own.”

“You’re lecturin’ me ‘bout risky and talkin’ ‘bout takin’ an _entire_ city ruled by Hyperion?” Lorelei stood up, placing her hands onto the conference table before her. “You’ve got balls, Yvette, I’ve never doubted that, but I think it’s best we follow Rhys’s orders. We keep our soldiers where they are, keep Opportunity clear and make sure Handsome Jack doesn’t try to drag himself back.”

“That gives Jack and his armies too much ammunition. They’ll know our soldiers are grouped up in Opportunity, learn their schedules and come in from all sides even if their strategists are as good as their test dummies. It leaves us too weak.”

“And what about sending every soldier in their packing? That won’t grab their attention?”

“That’s why they should depart in small groups one by one. Less suspicious that way.” Lorelei stared at Yvette for a moment. “You know I’m right.”

Lorelei sighed. “Maybe I do, but we still have to put it past Rhys.”

Yvette scoffed. “Yeah, good luck with that. He’s been hold up in his office for hours. The only people going in are Vaughn and Sasha.”

“That reminds me. Where the hell is Timothy? He’s supposed to sort this out with us.”

“One of the soldiers reported that they saw the Crimson Raiders when they came down to Opportunity. If you ask me, I say he’s going back into Vault Hunting.” Lorelei pulled up a seat and plopped herself down, putting her feet up and holding her hands behind her head.

“Eh, might be useful to have an active Vault Hunter on the team here. We all know they’re bloody badasses.”

“Yeah, but that also means he’ll be a lot more preoccupied. You never see an active Vault Hunter holding down a full-time job.”

“I’m sure Tim can handle it. Load him up on my special brew and he’s ready to go.”

“Your special brew is one step away from being like. . . cocaine tier drug.”

“Well, call me a drug addict ‘cause I had ‘bout five o’ them today.”

Yvette looked to Lorelei with extreme worry. “I saw dude’s heart stop when he took like three.”

Lorelei looked up at the clock on the wall. “Guess we’ll see if it kicks in. It might be nice. I haven’t slept in like. . . two days.”

". . . Lorelei."

“What?” Before Yvette could say anything more, the receiver rang. Lorelei held a finger up to her nose, grinning. “Nose goes.”

Yvette sighed. “Alright. But you’re getting it next time.” Yvette pressed call. “You’ve reached the Atlas Corporation. We are not interested in a merger right now nor a corporation war. If you’re calling for a complaint about our products, press one and I’ll redirect you to our marketeers.” Yvette paused. “Atlas Co. how can we kick ass for you today?”

"Is Rhys here?"

“No, sorry, he’s busy right now, but I can leave a message for him if you want.”

“Tell him to head down and send everyone he’s got to Pandora. War is coming.”

“I’m sorry. . . who is this?” They hung up. “Okay. . . ominous. You have any idea who that was, Lorelei?”

“They sounded. . . familiar.” Lorelei thought for a long moment before snapping her fingers. “I got it! It must’ve been-”

* * *

_Axton & Salvador, And You Thought They Wouldn’t Be Here! _

The two sports spectators in question with

_Gaige & Deathtrap, Beauty and the Margarita Dispenser. _

Gaige had taken time out of her wedding planning after the rather fantastical fiasco that was the marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock. And just as she did she found out that Axton and Salvador were off season. It was an absolute necessity that they should have a double date and catch up. So far, it was going wonderfully.

“Oh, I am glad we don’t have to be the ones to kill Handsome Jack this time. Last time was a _bitch._ ”

“Who you telling?” Axton asked, a smile on his face.

Gaige cackled. “You thought I was crazy giving Deathtrap heat resistance.”

Axton threw his head back in silent laughter. “I kept havin’ to fix up my damn turret while this fifty-foot Vault Monster is spraying lava and shit everywhere.”

Salvador slammed his fist onto the table. “You were so distracted you almost fell over the side!”

The Ex-Vault Hunters laughed joyously while Deathtrap shook his shoulders, emitting a robotic chuckle in imitation. “I am honestly surprised that we’re still alive. We are so stupid!” Gaige said.

“Gaige. We’re Vault Hunters. Of course we’re stupid,” Axton said.

“You’re telling me,” Salvador murmured, taking a sip of his margarita. Axton’s mouth fell agape before he punched his boyfriend in the arm lightly.

"You're telling me!" Salvador chuckled.

“Refill, babe?” Deathtrap beeped happily, dispensing more margarita for Gaige. “Thanks, Deathtrap.” Gaige took a sip of her drink and turned back to the sport announcers. “Have you guys gotten the chance to meet the new dummies?”

“We’ve seen them in action!” Salvador said happily.

“They’re pretty badass. Maybe even better than us.”

“I mean, they do got us beat on the Vault count,” Gaige admitted.

“We definitely have a good future for the Raiders on our hands,” Salvador said. “I mean, have you seen the new Sanctuary? The mortality rate up there has dropped by 25%!”

“They also stormed Opportunity and took it down recently,” Axton added.

"No shit," Gaige said.

“Yes shit!” Salvador exclaimed excitedly. 

“Damn, I still remember sabotaging Jack’s statues and that was a pain in the ass. Worth it, though.” She high-fived Deathtrap. “Do you think they grabbed Jack?”

“Must’ve,” said Axton. “No sighting of him.”

“That is. . . a bit weird. You’d think they’d kill him on sight.”

“That’s what I said,” spoke Salvador.

Gaige opened her mouth to continue to speak when Deathtrap rang. “Oh, hold on. Probably one of my clients.” Gaige pressed a small red button in his chest. “You’ve reached the Mechromancer, I’m kinda busy right now, but-”

“You there with the other Vault Hunters?” Everyone froze. Salvador’s glass dropping from his hand and shattering onto the bar’s floor. It couldn’t be-

* * *

_KRIEG, CALM AND COLLECTED C A L A M I T Y._

“Ocean Pearl washed away by the waves!” Krieg whined. “Return ashore?” he pleaded.

_Maya, Sapphire Starlight_

Shook her head, coming out of her daze. “Sorry, big guy. I’ve been. . . a little out of it lately. Feel like something’s big coming.”

“LET THE STORM RAGE! I CARRY A BONE UMBRELLA!”

Maya laughed. “Yeah, I know. But that bone umbrella isn’t going to protect you or the others on Sanctuary.”

“Keep the blue flame warm. Light in my darkness.”

The Siren gave him a stern look. “Hey, we talked about this. You have more friends than me and they care about you too.”

"Cannot lose pretty lady!"

“Hey.” Maya put a hand on Krieg’s mask and he leaned into her touch. “I’m not going anywhere, okay?” He nodded. “We may just have to hunker down and get ready.”

“I WILL STAMPEDE ACROSS PANDORA’S BOX AND SHAVE IT’S CRUST FOR MY HUMBLE ABODE!”

Maya chuckled. “No need for that, Krieg. Just be careful. And ready for anything.”

"I HAVE WALKED THE MINDSCAPE! I AM PREPARED!"

“That’s my guy.” Maya suddenly froze, her eyes glossing over.

Krieg tilted his head to the side. “Pretty lady?”

“Ava,” she said in a barely there whisper.

Krieg nodded his head in understanding. “Fire sprite.” Maya’s eyes narrowed as she focused on Ava’s voice. Krieg remained silent until she came back. “SHOWER ME IN PARTICULARS!”

“All Vault Hunters are being called to action on Pandora.”

"WHO IS THE INFORMER?!"

* * *

_ Claptrap, Surprise Shawty! _

The little robot was tapping away at some controls, unaware they don’t do anything other than make things blink or beep. He did volunteer to guard Jack, but after a rather swear-filled discussion the Vault Hunters thought it best if he’d help Balex with the manning the controls on the bridge.

It was tiring work for the little robot, but he persisted, still wanting to be a functioning member on Sanctuary. He’s gotta prove himself better than Veronica who apparently was doing wonders for Moxxi’s bar especially with her recent absences.

He misses having Ava on board. She always listened to his stories and wasn’t all that annoyed when he messed something up. She’s a good kid. He hopes she’s okay. People are all over Sirens these days. . . well, all the days. Which is strange considering how many are popping up lately.

There were the Calypsos, then Tannis, then Ava, then Lilith again. I mean, who else is gonna turn into a Siren? Handsome Jack’s Fiancée? Honestly, if that happened Claptrap couldn’t say he’d be surprised. Seems like everyone on Sanctuary is turning into a Siren these days. Must be something in their not-great water.

“Ay, yo, Claptrap,” Balex called. “Got an encrypted ECHO for you. Think you can crack it?”

“Can do, Balex!” the chipper robot replied, rushing over to the ship’s ECHO, analyzing the screen.

“ _ Claptrap, _

_ Things are all over the place right now, I know, but I need you to do a big favor for me. Sanctuary needs to head down to Pandora. War is coming and it’s heading straight for our home. I sent this message because the worst thing that can happen is for the passengers to panic. Convince Balex to land in the Droughts and anyone who is not willing to fight needs to get to a safe place. Fast Travel, bunkers, old hideouts, whatever it takes. Get the Vault Hunters prepared. I’m counting on you, general. _

_-The Firehawk._ ”

If Claptrap could, he’d swell with pride. He rolled up to Balex, brave as ever. “Balex! Set a course for Pandora!”

"Why?"

“ ‘Cause Lilith said so!”

“Oh. Just say that next time.” The ship reared back and it was off into the cosmos heading toward Pandora.


	26. Pandora's Box

Rose found herself in a dark place, void of all objects and noise. It was simply Rose against the inky blackness.

“You look a little lost.” Rose whipped around, seeing none other than Maya before her. As the blue Siren smiled the void morphed, the darkness dispersing into a nearly blinding white. Rose’s eyes darted around before landing back on Maya.

"Think I am."

Maya held out her hand. “C’mon. I know a place that’s a little more comfortable.” Without thinking much of it, Rose took Maya’s hand and followed her through the void.

"Is this a dream? Am I. . . am I dead?"

“No to both. I like to think of this place as a blurred line. It’s unclear where it begins or ends or if it does either. But you’re here.”

“Huh. Still not sure if this is the weirdest thing I’ve experienced.”

“If it is, it won’t stay like that for long. You’re a Siren now and that comes with all sorts of weird problems that not everyone has a solution to.”

“Like if I don’t want to be a Siren?”

Maya laughed. “Especially that one.” Upon the horizon - if you can call it a horizon - a home had appeared. It wasn’t much, but it seemed. . . serene.

"Is-is that-?"

“Yep. That’s my home back on Athenas. Apparently it’s a Siren hotspot now. Really makes me wish I cleaned up a little before I left, but oh well, I’m sure the girls are taking care of it.” The two approached the humble little house and Maya unlocked the door, allowing Rose to come in. Much to her surprise, it was empty. “Have a seat, let me make you some tea.”

Rose took a seat in a wicker chair and tried to make herself comfortable while Maya put some water on. “Why am I here?”

Maya turned to Rose. “You’re lost. I’m here to guide you.”

“Listen, no offense, but I don’t want this spiritual epiphany about being a Siren. I just want to go back to normal.”

“No one really wants the burden of the Siren. We’re given an unexplainable power that apparently has to be used for good when people have such little concepts as to what ‘good’ is.” Maya took off her hood and leaned her back against the kitchen counter. “But, we have to work with what we got. And through pure fate you were dealt with this power, whether you like it or not.” 

The kettle whistled and the Siren took it off the stove, turning off the heat. She took two mugs from her cabinet, one seemingly untouched and the other covered in golden fractures.

“And what is this power I have?” Maya turned around, two steaming cups of what smelled like chamomile in her hands. She walked over to Rose and handed her the fractured cup. Maya sat down and blew gently into her cup.

“Unsure. Every Siren has to figure that out for themself. But, I believe you are special in that respect.” Rose took a sip of her tea and was. . . kinda disappointed. She always heard Maya rave about the stuff, but it just tastes like hot leaf juice. Nevertheless, she drank. “Troy Calypso didn’t have a full arm and yet you have a working projection.”

Rose looked down at her hand, slowly rotating it. “Huh. Guess that’s true. Never thought about that. I was more distracted with having two hands again.” She took another sip of her tea. “Oh, shit, I gotta think about what to do with my prosthetic.”

Maya smiled, amused. “I think that’s the least of your worries right now.”

“Right. Right.” She took another sip of her tea. “What do you think I should do? I hardly think there’s enough time before the war to squeeze in some sort of training montage.”

“You’ll figure it out. I know you will. And don’t sweat it. The Siren lifestyle is tough, but it’s nothing you can’t overcome. I mean, look at you. You’re a goddamn survivor, Rose. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Before Rose could register it, her eyes began to well up. “That actually might be the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.” She brushed the upcoming tears from her eyes with her thumb.

“Eh, it’s the truth. Even if your past isn’t the cleanest you fought hard to get where you are now. And that’s how I know you’ll be okay no matter what this life throws at you.”

Rose smiled for the first time in what felt like a long time. “Maya, you barely even know me.”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing about Vault Hunters. You’re thrown together practically haphazardly and after one scrape with death you could swear you’ve known each other all your life.”

"Tell that to the others."

"They'll warm up to you. It'll just take some time."

"Do we have that much time?"

Maya shrugged. "Find out and see."

* * *

Rose awoke with a start, grabbing a hold of whatever was in reach at that time which. . . felt like a wrist. The sound of snoring and view of the back of the car told her just exactly where she was. Slowly, she lifted Jack’s arm only to have it wrap around her tightly.

“Where are you going?” he mumbled into her hair. “The heating’s shit on this ship, it’s cold out, Rosebud.”

“Think I’ll brave the cold.” She got out of Jack’s grip and buttoned up her shirt. Considering their state of dress nothing really happened. But, being cuddled by a shirtless Handsome Jack in the back seat of a car isn’t really a good look. Especially considering Rose’s reputation. “I got more important things to do, Jack.”

“More important than me? I don’t think so, cupcake.” Just as she opened the door he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap. “Why not put me on your to-do list so you can cross something off?” He kissed her neck, grinning to himself.

Rose was not swayed. “I got a boyfriend to talk to and a daughter of yours to check on.” She pushed Jack’s face away and climbed out of the car much to his dismay.

He smirked. “Remember when me and you used to sneak around Helios to get some privacy like this? You’d always say ‘oh no, Jack, we can’t! I’m busy!’, but one way or another we’d always be in some office doing unspeakable things to each other.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “We weren’t facing a universe-shattering war, I wasn’t a Siren, and I didn’t have a boyfriend worried sick about me.” She unrolled her sleeves and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I got other priorities, Jack.”

He folded his arms over the window and rested his head there. “Will you come back?”

"If the Vault Hunters don't airlock your ass? . . . Maybe."

He smiled wickedly. "I like maybe." Rose hid the beginnings of a smile as she made her way upstairs. "What? No goodbye kiss?"

"Nope!" Rose’s smile disappeared as she walked about Sanctuary in a silent search for Zane, trying not to attract too much attention. That’s when she ran into Moxxi who seemed to have just slipped into her bartender costume.

“Rose!” She wrapped her arms around Rose and Rose had to fight to keep her hands in her pockets. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.” She pulled away, hands on Rose’s shoulders. “What’s been going on?”

"It's. . . kind of a long story."

"Come get a drink, you can tell me all about it."

"I don't really think-"

“Nonsense! You look like you could use a drink anyway. What can I fix up for you, sugar? Whiskey?”

"Moxxi-"

"Bourbon?"

"Moxx-"

"Scotch?"

“I’m fine!” Rose’s hands came out of their pockets to make a defensive gesture. Moxxi’s eyes drifted down to them and she masked her surprise as best as she could. Quickly, she took Rose’s hands into her own.

“Let me take you to the back.” Wordlessly, the two walked into Moxxi’s bar where Moxxi led her to a slot machine in the back. The bartender kicked the side of it before pulling the lever. Three hearts aligned and the machine dinged in praise as it slid to the side, unveiling the back of the bar. Quickly, the two women walked inside before the slot machine closed behind them.

Behind the slot machine was much like Moxxi’s old workshop on Concordia except for the left side of it. It looked like a small one bedroom nook complete with a twin sized bed, a couch, a coffee table, and a kitchenette. Moxxi guided Rose to the bed and sat her down beside her. “A Siren?” she asked, dropping her faux accent completely.

"A Siren."

"How in the hell did you become a Siren in the span of time I was gone?"

Rose chose her words carefully. "What's your understanding of time travel?"

“It would require an extremely powerful processor with the ability to wipe out planets in the hands of someone sane enough not to take advantage of that. The machine in particular would have to find a way to shape the universe in itself just to be able to present the opportunity to travel to a different time. Forget sending someone through it.”

“Well, what if I told you a Vault Relic makes that a lot easier?” Rose pulled the Traveler’s Stone up into Moxxi’s view.

“Go on.” Moxxi unlaced her boots, curling up onto the bed. Rose leaned back onto the pillows and drew out the events leading up until now, leaving out her encounter with Jack, of course. If she’s lucky she’ll be able to keep that quiet.

* * *

The Gortys Project family reunion had wrapped up and Fiona was left again with the whimpering Angel, unsure what to do. The Eridium’s cool by now, but with her absence of her tattoos it’s now questionable more than ever whether or not to hook her up. Though, cold turkey all at once may send her into shock. A shock that Fiona has no telling how much damage it would inflict.

Her eyes anxiously scanned the windows outside for any sign of Rose. “Come on, it’s a small ship where the hell could you be?”

"She's gone?" Angel asked blearily.

“Yeah, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon-”

"I didn't mean it."

Fiona knitted her eyebrows together. “Mean what?”

“Give her my curse,” she said, gesturing to her right arm. Fiona’s eyes widened while Angel’s eyes watered. “I was so scared, Fiona. I didn’t mean it.”

“Hey, hey it’s okay,” Fiona assured, trying to remain calm. “I’m sure we’ll work it out.”

"There's no cure for being a Siren."

“We don’t need a cure. And if I understand correctly there’s a ton of Sirens here. We’ll be able to take care of her. Everything is going to work out, Angel.”

“I hope so.” Angel’s eyelids grew heavy once again and she fell underneath the spell of sleep. 

Fiona grimaced. “Where the hell are you, Rose?”

* * *

“Pandora,” Rhys repeated, scratching his chin. It was only minutes ago that he had realized one of his closest friends was alive and somehow in that same span of time Atlas had received a warning from none other than the Firehawk herself. This day was getting more eventful by the second and it wasn’t even midnight yet. “Why does everything happen on Pandora?”

“Not sure, but this war definitely doesn’t sound like anything we’ve faced before,” Sasah reasoned.

“If this is the war I think it is, I think we’re gonna need more people than we already have in Opportunity,” Vaughn said. “When I started bumming with the Crimson Raiders when a buncha plants were taking over I actually got some of them to talk about when they were interrogating Athena. Apparently before Lilith had a chance to execute her, a Guardian swooped in and warned them about the war against Vault Hunters. And it sounds. . . pretty bad.”

"Like pretty bad or-"

“Pretty pretty bad is my guess,” Sasha intervened. “Especially since she asked Rhys and everyone he’s got to go to Pandora.”

“Why me of all people? I am probably the most combat-inept Vault Hunter to ever hunt a Vault.”

Sasha nudged him, a slight smile on her face. “You’ve kicked some ass before. Sure, with some advantages, but that’s literally all Atlas is. It’s your advantage, Rhys. And we’ll be right there behind you.”

"Do you think it'll be enough?"

“We’ll make it enough,” Sasha assured. “Won’t we, Vaughn?”

“Yeah! I’ll push some money around and buy some more ammo after that, I’m gonna swing by over to Yvette and Lorelei. We’re gonna kick some alien ass!”

Rhys grinned. "Yeah!"

"Yeah!" Sasha cheered.

“Yeah!” Vaughn ran out of the office, high on adrenaline, and positively terrifying for the Atlas stooges just outside the door.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Sasha asked.

“BLOOD FEUUUUD!”

Rhys shook his head. “Nope. Get prepared to deal with that on the trip down to Pandora,” Rhys warned, standing up from his seat. “Wanna help me pick out some outfits?”

“If I don’t you’ll be walking around with socks and sandals.”

“How else am I supposed to show off my fun socks?” Sasha laughed. “What? If I’m gonna die in a Vault Hunter War I want to leave behind a fun corpse.” Sasha pushed him lightly, causing Rhys to chuckle while the two walked out of his office. His arm around Sasha’s shoulders when the lights finally dimmed.

* * *

Rose stepped out from behind the slot machine, Moxxi just behind her. “You sure you have to go? That bed’s not just for decoration, you know.”

“I had a nap, I’ll be fine.” Without warning, Moxxi turned Rose’s head toward her and pressed her lips against Rose’s. Rose held Moxxi’s hand dearly as they embraced before they departed.

"You stay safe, sugar."

Rose smiled. “You too.” Moxxi stepped backward and hit the side of the slot machine. . . only for it to not close.

“Hold on.” Moxxi hit it again. Then again. Then once more before it slid to a close. “There we go.” Rose laughed, waving to Moxxi. “See you, honey.”

“See you, Moxx.” The slot machine went into place and Rose was left to her devices once more. She went to head upstairs when she saw Zane, just across the bar. Her smile faded. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He approached her. “See you got along with Moxxi.”

"I. . . needed a drink," she lied.

“For what exactly?” Without saying anything, Rose pulled her left hand out of her pocket and turned it for Zane to see. Zane’s eyebrows raised. “Ah. Two hands.” Rose pulled out her other hand.

“Two tattoos.” Zane’s eyes began to roll up into his skull as he slumped forward, luckily Rose caught him.

“Okay, okay, come on, Zane it’s not that bad.”

“I could handle resurrection. I could handle time travel. But me girlfriend being a double Siren?”

“You can handle that too, c’mon.” Rose helped Zane toward the stairs. “I’ll explain everything in the infirmary. How’s that sound?”

"Peachy."

“Great, then help me out a little, you’re heavy.”

“Right.” With some struggling the couple climbed upstairs where they came across Timothy who was just heading down.

Rose grinned nervously. “Hey, Timothy!”

"Rose. . . what's going on?"

“Later. Gotta get Zane to the infirmary, he’s not feeling too well.”

"You need a hand?"

“Nah, she’s already got one,” Zane joked perhaps faster than he could’ve processed. Rose elbowed him softly.

"What?"

"He's loopy, don't listen to him."

"Okay. . . . I'll see you?"

“Yep!” As Rose brushed past the doppelganger Timothy could swear he saw something shining on the back of her hand. On second glance he found a golden tattoo wrapping around her arm. His eyebrows raised. He turned around and walked the rest of the way downstairs. That wasn’t. . . couldn’t have been. Timothy shook his head. He needed sleep. He’s forgotten the last time he’s even seen a bed. He wonders if Moxxi can set him up with something.

* * *

“Are you sure it’s safe for us to leave?” Ava asked apprehensively as Amara helped gather her things. “The Vault Hunters haven’t even contacted us.”

“Have faith in Lilith, little sister,” Amara assured, placing Ava’s backpack onto her shoulders. “She called upon us and as Sirens we have to answer.” Tannis arrived in the living room, carrying her duffel bag.

“This war was going to come sooner or later, we were warned about that long ago and the time is finally here! Keep your wits about you and be wary. The Guardians will no doubt be attracted to us like flies to Skag excrement.”

“Will they already be deploying soldiers?” Amara questioned.

“It would be safe to assume every possibility. There’s no telling what we will face.”

Amara grinned. “That’s just how I like it.” She looked down at Ava. “Ready, little sister?” Ava thought hard for a moment before holding up a finger.

“One second!” She skittered off to Maya’s bedroom and quickly kneeled before her old praying tablet. The young Siren closed her eyes. “Okay.” She took in a deep breath, slowly letting it back out, focusing on Maya and only Maya until she found herself. . . well, in the very same room. Maya smiled kindly at Ava from the bed.

“Hey, Ava. Me and Krieg were just about to head out, caught me at a good time.”

“Yeah, me, Tannis, and Amara were just leaving for Pandora. I wanted to ask you about this new Siren. Is she really the Seventh one? Is she going to be the one to save us?”

Maya thought for a moment. “Yes. And no. She’s like the place I am right now. The blurred line. And she is only one person just like you and me. You can’t expect her to swoop in and save the day. She’s going to need help. Especially from you.”

"How am I supposed to do that?"

“She’s just as new as you. If you’re lucky, maybe you can give her a few pointers.”

"I don't even know who she is."

“Don’t worry. You won’t be able to miss her.”

“What does she look like?” Ava asked desperately, trying to hold onto her connection with Maya as best as she could.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to figure out for yourself, Ava.” Maya stood up, walking out of the bedroom, sparing a glance at Ava. 

"Maya. Maya, wait!"

She smiled once again. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon, Ava. You be good while I’m gone. Well, as good as you can be.” Maya opened the door and Ava was sent back into the real world, frustrated she couldn’t get any good answers this time. She sighed, standing up, placing a hand on the tablet fondly.

“Bye, Maya.” With that, she left with the other Sirens in the pursuit for Pandora.

* * *

Wasn’t long until Fiona and Zane were caught up now all that was left to do was to deal with Rose and Angel which is a much more hefty task than it suggests.

“People don’t take kindly to pure Eridium just touchin’ ‘em I doubt we’ll be able to give her injections,” Zane concluded.

“Yeah, but there’s Eridium addicts,” Fiona brought up.

"And they're healthy?" Rose questioned.

“No, but it’s at least proof that we’re able to give her injections.”

“Able, but not permitted,” Rose said as she went to freshen up Angel’s ice pack. “She’s running a fever like nobody’s business and I don’t think it’s going to let up.”

Zane stroked his beard in thought. “Earl was already pissed, but I bet that old crone is gonna break down his door if he finds out we smelted his Eridium and ended up not usin’ it.” With the new ice in the bag she placed down the bag on top of the cloth on her head. Angel’s brow merely furrowed as her fists clenched.

Rose frowned. “I think we have to talk to Jack.”

“What?!” the two Vault Hunters yelled.

“I know. But. . . this is his daughter, the very specific one he got addicted to Eridium in the first place. If anyone knows what to do with her right now it’s him.” Fiona and Zane stared down at Angel, an apprehensive look on their faces. “What’s the verdict?”

“I’m not going down to talk to him,” Fiona and Zane said simultaneously.

“I can’t risk going outside again if we want to keep this under wraps until we do an announcement,” Rose reasoned, wiggling her fingers. The three stayed silent before begrudgingly Fiona and Zane formed fists, ready to just duel it out with rock, paper, scissors when Rose intervened. “Hold it. Let me just call him.”

"You have his number?" Fiona asked.

“He called me up one night to threaten Sanctuary- it’s this whole thing. Either way, got his number.” Fiona still seemed skeptical, but nonetheless, Rose dialed Jack up.

“Here I thought you were going to come back down and visit me.” Rose averted her eyes from the two. “What’s up, buttercup?”

“It’s about Angel.” That shut him up. “She’s no longer a Siren, but she told me she needs routine Eridium injections. She’s got a fever like nobody’s business, but I’m really afraid about injecting her. What do I do?” There was a long pause. “Jack?”

“Small doses. I am talking cough syrup level dosages. Only administer them every twelve hours even if she begs. We gotta get her off it.”

"Thank you, Jack."

"Wait, Rose. Let me hear her, please."

"Jack. . ."

“Please. I’m not asking for much, I just- I just want to hear my little Angel again.” Rose glanced at Angel then back at the ECHO.

“She’s not awake and I don’t think she’s going to want to hear from you.”

“That’s okay.” Rose put the ECHO up to Angel’s face for a short while. She could hear Jack on the other line choking up. Eventually, Rose pulled the ECHO away. "Thank you."

"Mhm," she said dismissively.

“You call me if anything else happens.”

“We’ll see.” Rose hung up before Jack could say anything else. Nobody said anything for a long while as Rose went to get one of Tannis’s unused needles. “Fiona, would you mind going by the Lost and Found, see if you can find Angel a change of clothes?”

"Yeah, sure." Fiona left without another word.

Rose carefully measured out the dosage before transferring it into the needle. “How did he know Angel was up here?” Rose paused in her movements for an instant.

“I told him,” she answered as nonchalantly as she could. “I went somewhere to think and there he was. I tried to kick him out, but he grabbed my hand and. . . find out about me and Angel.”

"I thought you went to Moxxi's."

“I went to her after I ran into Jack.” Rose flicked the needle, making sure there were no air bubbles.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

“I didn’t think it was important.” Rose walked over to Angel and turned her arm over. “Hand me the rubbing alcohol and a swab, please?” Zane gave Rose the items, saying nothing. “Thank you.” Rose rubbed Angel’s arm down and carefully inserted the needle into a vein. She pushed down the plunger before taking the needle out and disposing it.

"What happened with him? Really."

“We just talked, Zane. That’s all.” He grabbed her hand, causing her to turn and look at him.

“Love. Please.” Rose knew she couldn’t hide anything from him and the more she tried the more she hurt him, but how hurt will he be if she admits everything?

She pursed her lips together. "Not here. Not now."

"When?"

“I don’t know, Zane, but not now.” Rose tended to Angel and all Zane could do was sit back and watch.

* * *

Somehow, Moze’s and FL4K’s sleepover had morphed into a practically Sanctuary-wide Bunkers and Badasses campaign. In the midst of the Beastmaster’s dorm was Tina, the BM, of course. Mordecai, the Archer. Brick, the Siren. Zer0, the Assassin. Moze, the Soldier. And FL4K as the Bard.

The game had been going on for hours, the sleep in sleepover taking its own retirement. Well, unless you count FL4K’s pack plus Daisy. Broodless has long nestled in FL4K’s coat, snoring softly while Daisy slept in his lap, kicking sofly. Meanwhile Chew took a well deserved rest in his bed. Meat-Thief was snoozing in their hammock. Even Talon appeared to be falling under the spell of sleep, on Mordecai’s shoulder nonetheless. None of this is important unless you’re a heartless monster that hates animals. 

As of now the adventurers were trekking through a desert land filled with monsters. The Siren was tired, having suffered a nearly fatal attack by a vicious beast. The adventurers had heard of a Doctor able to heal her, however she was a long way away in a far off city. Things seem dire, but the heroes venture on, having no other choice. They must rid the land of these monsters if this desert planet ever wants to have a day of virtue.

“You travel through the dastardly droughts of the planet. Desperate for assistance, but none shall come!” exclaimed Tina before grinning. “Or so you think.” From behind her board, she presented an ally onto the board. “Allow me to introduce you to-!”

Sanctuary trembled, awakening the many animals in the room and preturbing Tina’s set up. Daisy crawled out of FL4K’s lap much to their disappointment. “Ugh! This always happens when I’m gettin’ to the good part!”

“Calm down, I’m sure everything’s fine,” Mordecai said. “We can just take a break and see what’s going on.”

“Optimism is / really enjoyed, Mordecai, / but wicked don’t rest.” Zer0 stood, helping the rest of the Vault Hunters up.

“Eh, I’m sure Claptrap just messed with the controls again,” Moze said as she got up, cracking her back.

“Better not be. Or Clappy’s in for some slappy!” Tina said, jumping up onto her feet. “I’m all fired up now no stoppin’ this tick-tick-tickin’ Tina bomb! Whatever’s out there, I’m blowing it up!”

“Hell yeah!” Brick cheered, earning an elbow jab from Mordecai. “I mean. . . as long as there is a threat outside.”

“Odds are in our favor for it,” FL4K informed, gently waking Broodless, getting her ready for a fight. They took the Spiderant out of their coat and placed her on the floor.

“Well, I’m going to stop by the garage, get Bear ready. You guys go on without me, I’ll catch up,” Moze informed.

"Are you sure?" FL4K asked.

"Yeah. I'm kinda tired anyway. You guys go have fun."

Brick cracked his knuckles. “Means more punching for us.” Moze exited FL4K’s room and soon after the rest of the Vault Hunters followed suit, primed and ready for a fight. The muscle of the group, namely Brick with Tina up on his shoulders rushed downstairs to get outside while the more tactical of the group jogged upstairs to the cockpit to get a little more read on the situation.

Claptrap grabbed the microphone connected to the comms of Sanctuary. “Ahem. Attention, people of Sanctuary! General Claptrap here to deliver news from our leader. If you can’t hold a gun, start running to the nearest shelter now. . . or be prepared to die.” A rush of panic shivered through the ship while the thundering of footsteps emitted just around every corner.

“Claptrap, what the hell are you doing, man?!” Mordecai asked.

The little robot turned to the Vault Hunters. “Lilith told me to evacuate anyone on Sanctuary that can’t participate in the war.”

“There’s better ways to do that, stupido.” Mordecai took the microphone from Claptrap. “Yo, passengers, chill out, you’re not gonna die.” Almost on cue a Guardian seemingly from the sky landed in the windshield, piercing the glass with it’s staff. Screams from the many ship managers clawed out of their throats as the foreign attacker twisted it’s weapon, furthering the damage. “But we are being attacked. Haul ass in a calm manner to the nearest exits that means airlocks if you can fit. ¡Ándale, ándale!”

“Real smooth, bird-dude,” Balex belittled.

“Shut up, man.” Mordecai quickly pulled out his rifle and took a shot and the Guardian went limp.

“The War is upon / us. Get ready, Vault Hunters. / This may be the end.” Zer0 disappeared.

Mordecai turned to FL4K. “I’m gonna make sure we’re clear. Get everyone out of here?”

"My thoughts exactly."

"Godspeed, amigo."

“I do not believe in any God, but I appreciate the gesture.” Mordecai nodded in affirmation before taking his station. “Come on, little brother. Now’s the time for action.” FL4K lifted up Claptrap and placed him onto their shoulder.

Claptrap let out a small gasp. “Physical affection!”

“Off we go!” FL4K said, almost giddily, were it not for their forced monotone as they, Claptrap, and Broodless rushed off to help the ongoers for Sanctuary.

* * *

“What do we do?!” Fiona asked, looking down at Angel in fear.

Rose made a quick decision, grabbing the clothes Fiona brought and stuffing them into a duffel bag. “You two! Go fill up as many needles as you can with Eridium and grab as much medical supplies as you can!” Zane and Fiona got to their duties while Rose zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

She walked up to Angel and gently shook her. “Rose?” she asked groggily.

“Hey, Angel. The ship’s under attack, we have to go now. Do you think you can walk?” Angel shook her head. “Okay. I’m going to have to carry you. Is that okay?”

"Yes. Yeah."

“Okay.” Rose carefully picked Angel up and held her bridal style in her arms. “All good?” Weakly, Angel nodded, her expression slowly turning to one of guilt.

“I’m so sorry, Rose,” she said tearfully, placing her hand on Rose’s arm.

“No need to apologize, sweetheart just try to keep calm for me. Can you do that?” Once again, Angel nodded. “Good.” Rose turned to Fiona and Zane who were filling up their own bags with Eridium and medical supplies. “You two got everything?”

"Just 'bout."

"Yeah, I think I'm good."

“Good, unlock the door, let’s go.” Zane ran forward and unlocked the door and the Travelers rushed out of the medical bay and went for the garage. Lucky for them, FL4K and Claptrap were clearing traffic by directing to different exits. Though, it was still rather crowded, two people can only do so much after all.

Rose scanned for maybe a more discreet exit when she heard a yapping of a rather excited Skag, happy to see her owner again. Rose looked down at the excited Skag, wondering how to shoo her off when Zane scooped her up.

“I’ll help FL4K with directin’ people, you go on ahead.”

"You sure?"

“ ‘Course. I’ll see you on the other side. For real this time, got me?” Zane said with a slight smile.

“I’ll try.” Rose gave Zane a quick kiss goodbye before moving toward the garage, Fiona just behind her as they wavered through the crowd.

Down in the garage was Moze and Ellie, ushering people through the airlock. Nearly unknowingly, Rose’s eyes darted about, looking for Jack. She found him in the thick of it threatening passerbys into hurrying. It was odd seeing Handsome Jack doing a charitable thing like putting his safety before others just to get them off the ship, but nevertheless, Rose waved him over, yet again nearly involuntary.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Fiona asked.

"Something stupid." Jack spotted Rose and Angel and hurried over.

“Angel,” he said in a broken voice, taking her hand. “My dear, sweet, Angel. Is she okay? Did something happen?”

“She’s fine. She’s still recovering. Have you seen Timothy or Moxxi?”

“Not through here yet. I’m sure they’re right behind us, there’s more backup here than a constipated Skag.”

"I noticed."

“What the hell is happening by the way? The soldier girl gave me _no_ information."

“We’ve landed on Pandora and there’s already Guardians on the field.”

"Well, there goes Junpai-7."

“Thank God.” Jack glared as Rose and Fiona approached the exit.

Moze gave Rose a look as the three passed through. “Kick some ass out there. Prove me wrong about you.”

Rose nodded. “Can do.” Moze nodded back and turned her attention back to the crowds.

Before Rose now was Sanctuary’s old launchpad, the field positively littered with Guardians. Many of Sanctuary’s passengers stood, helpless or worse yet, some laid down on the ground, lifeless. On the battlefield, Rose could see some Vault Hunters fending off as many aliens as they could, but there was simply too many.

“Shit,” Fiona cursed, looking about before her eyes landed on Rose. “You gotta make a run for it.”

"What about you?"

“I’ve done my part, you gotta live through this!”

“Fiona-” The Traveler took off her duffel bag and handed it to Jack.

“These are medical supplies and Eridium injections, be careful with it.” From Fiona’s sleeve she unveiled a small pistol with three rounds. “I’ll cover you two as best as I can, but you need to run now!”

Jack took Rose by the shoulders. “C’mon, pumpkin, we’ve gotta go.” Reluctantly, Rose made her way through the onslaught of attacks, trying to keep Angel as close as possible to her. The two had traveled down the stairs to the lift. Jack pulled the lever and they shakily made their descent. “God, who made this thing?” Jack asked impatiently, the lift dragging them down ever slowly. “My grandmother can go faster than this and she’s dead!”

“As far as we know. With the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back from the dead too.”

“Don’t jinx us. The last thing I would want to happen is to have her here.” Abruptly, from the sky came a Guardian armed with a spear, pinning Jack to the ground and attempting to pierce him. Jack held onto the staff, preventing the tip of the spear from coming any closer. “My last statement still stands!” Rose acted quickly and drew her pistol. . . only to remember she had forgotten to reload.

"Shit!" she cursed.

“Language!” Rose carefully placed Angel down and lunged at the Guardian, pinning it to the ground, she took out her pistol once again, bashing it over the head over and over until it went limp below her. Rose huffed and went to stand up only to wince in pain. She peered down at herself. Lodged in her side was the head of the spear.

She pressed her hand to the wound. “Huh.” She turned to Jack, woozy. “Didn’t even feel it.” Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.


	27. Siren's Song

Burning. Everything was burning. She walked through the cinder and ash, steps uneven, breaths slow and rattling. She tried to avoid their gazes. The blank stares of friends long lost, but they bore into her mind and soul. Still, she walked. Though her limbs were sore and her body was haggard, she walked through the battlefield.

In the sky was Elpis. Even from this distance you can see it tearing apart, the symbol of the Firehawk long broken. The very fate of Pandora. Eden-6. Promethea. Nekrotafayo. Everything. All because of her and her failure.

From the corpses came a hand, wrapping it’s cold fingers around Rose’s ankle. “Rosebud,” he said from beneath the debris. The Siren lowered her gaze, watching in horror as Jack rose from his grave. His face resembled that of the day when he first died. Pale, grizzled, lifeless. “Come back to me. Come back to me, Rosie.” Rose wished to break free, to move, but she paralyzed as he reached out and grabbed her hand, dragging her down with him. “Rose,” he called out. “Rose!”

* * *

Rose’s eyes opened, a blurry, pale face staring into her with pale, mismatched eyes. “Hey, hey there, Rosie. You here with me?”

Rose went to push Jack away when she peered down and found his jacket draped over her. She pulled it off, revealing her shirt was missing and the lower part of her torso was wrapped in bandages.

"What happened?"

"Got into a nasty fall out with the Guardians, had to patch you up."

"Where's Angel?"

“She’s okay, she’s over there, see? I got a handle on the Eridium too.” He threw his thumb over to the cot in the corner where Angel laid, shrouded in Jack’s sweater.

"Where the hell are we?"

“Abandoned bandit camp. It’s cramped, but those psychos had the right idea about shipping containers.”

“Where’s Zane? Where are the others?” Jack placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder and slowly pushed her back down onto her back.

"Rose, you're hurt. You need to rest."

“I’ll rest when I’m dead. There is a war going on and whether I like it or not, I’m a part of it.”

"Honey, you don't even know what you can do-"

"So you expect me to lay here and never learn?"

Jack paused. "You could lose control."

“I also could let everyone I love die. And I’m not going to let that happen.” Rose sat back up only to wince in pain, clutching at her side. Jack eased her back down.

“You need rest, Rose.” Reluctantly, Rose stayed, staring up in frustration at the metallic ceiling.

"Angel's going to be pissed when she wakes up."

“She’s been in and out. She knows I’m here. And you’re right. She’s not happy about it.” 

Rose closed her eyes for a brief moment. “Shit. I promised her. I _promised_ her that you’ll never come near her again.”

“I don’t think she’ll be too hard on you for it. She’s not the type.” Jack scoffed at himself. “But then again, what do I know? She kept everything from me. I heard kids under hard surveillance become freakishly good at hiding things. Little did I know one of those days she’ll hide things even from me.” Silence fell over the two. “I did try to be good to her. It was a shitty attempt, but I tried.”

“You’re too easy to succumb to power. That was your downfall two times running. If we survive any of this I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again.” Jack said nothing which was odd to Rose. He’d always have some sort of comeback or counterargument but either he’s too tired to make it or he’s finally run out. “The first time I time traveled I didn’t get to Angel right away. I ran into you. . . well, I ran into John. You were so ambitious and so desperate to do the right thing. But, it just all toppled over you. I know you try to hide it behind this cheap bravado, but I know you better than that. You’re broken, Jack. I can’t fix that.”

Jack took Rose’s hand into his own, squeezing it tightly. Still, he said nothing as he brought her hand to his lips before resting his forehead onto it, hands clasped to a prayer.

“I know,” he finally said, softer than ever. “I know.” Without saying anything, Rose sat up and slowly brought Jack into a hug. He clung to her desperately and though it wounded her, she held on. Even as tears dripped onto her shoulder. “I want to be better, Rose. Please, let me be better.”

“It’s not up to me.” She rubbed Jack’s back soothingly as he sobbed quietly in her shoulder. She was sickened with herself for comforting him, but she couldn’t just let him suffer. It hurt too much.

* * *

The next morning Rose and Jack hardly exchanged a word between each other. They spoke through small, simple gestures. Like Jack fixing his suit jacket onto her to keep her covered, Rose fussing with his collar. Modesty meant very little at this time, but getting as close to normal did. At least to them.

"You actually look better in that jacket," Jack said passively.

“I still say it’s a little too much for me.” Rose grabbed the duffel bag of Angel’s things. “What happened to my shirt?” Rose asked, somewhat offhandedly.

“You bled through it and you know what Pandoran animals are like. Can smell that stuff from a mile away. So, I tossed it.”

"I liked that shirt."

“I’ll buy you a better one.” Rose decided to leave Jack's statement be and walked over to wake up Angel. She crouched down and gently shook her.

“Angel? Angel, it’s time to get going.” Her eyes opened, just barely.

"Is he gone?" she asked blearily.

Rose frowned. "We need him, Angel." 

"You promised me."

“I know. I’m sorry. But, we have to put the past aside for now. We have to get going, it’s not safe for us to stay. You think you can walk?” Wordlessly, Angel got up from the cot and stood. “Good. Come on.” Angel stuck close to Rose, gaining as much distance as she could from Jack as Rose loaded her gun and opened the door. It was immediately torn open by a Guardian. “RUN!” Rose kicked the alien down and made a rather broken break for it, Angel and Jack trailing behind her.

With Rose’s injury and Angel not having properly walked in a few hours they were beginning to lag behind, Guardians hot on their tail. “Screw it!” Before Rose knew it she was lifted up off her feet by Jack, Angel just over his other shoulder as he booked it to the Catch-a-Ride. With the combined weight of both of them, Jack did slow some but either fear or pure determination was fueling him now. “Really should’ve asked Vaughn about his workout regimen,” he grunted.

Rose peered over her shoulder, picking off as many aliens as she could, but it seemed like they just kept coming. “Might want to go faster, Jack!”

"Yeah, what do you think I'm doing?!"

"We're not gonna make it! They're swarming us!" Angel said.

“We’re gonna make it, Angel! We’re gonna friggin’ make it if it’s the last thing I do," Jack assured, though their odds looked slim.

Rose looked back to the Catch-a-Ride that practically sat on the horizon. Even with Jack absolutely booking it the whole way the number of Guardians flanking them is going to cut them off before they can even set off the voice recording. If only they could just get an order for Outrrunner and have it drive out to them.

Rose smelled olives- no, fried pickles as a voice came from just further beyond them. “I can get a car for you up and thrummin’, Rose, just reach on over.” Rose furrowed her eyebrows as everything slowed. “Just reach.” Her left arm surged with power as she reached out and ordered a car. “ ‘Atta girl! Now just bring it on over.” She curled her fingers toward herself and the car came racing toward them before coming to a screeching halt just beyond Jack. “You’re a natural, girl! Maybe you’ll be a Siren yet. You take care of my mama and my sister for me when you see her, ya hear?” Everything resumed at normal speed.

While shocked at what just happened none of them had time to process it. First, Jack threw open the backseat door and sat Angel down.

“Buckle up, kiddo.” Jack opened the driver’s seat and let Rose crawl over to the passenger seat. Then Jack got behind the wheel and shut the door. He put the Outrunner in reverse and slammed on the gas, causing the girls to let out yelps of surprise as they were thrown backwards, hitting a few bumps on the way. Jack put it in drive and sped away.

He checked the rearview mirror, looking up into Angel’s eyes as they all caught their breath. “Everyone alright? We all have the right amount of extremities?”

“Yeah,” Angel answered. “I actually feel. . . kinda good. I’ve never been chased like that before,” Angel said with a slight smile.

“Eh, glad you liked your old man almost going into cardiac arrest.” Jack sighed. “Fucking Pandora- Frigging! Shit! Ah, fuck! Ah-!”

“Dad, you had me monitor the Vault Hunters. Literally none of that is new language.”

“We don’t tolerate bad language while you’re around. You’re a lady, Angel and no one should use that language around you.” Angel rolled her eyes. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me!”

“Jack,” Rose spoke. “Shut the fuck up.” Angel’s mouth gaped before slowly smiling, glancing at her father who was shocked to say the least.

"I will turn this car around if I have to."

"Newsflash, asshole: I just summoned this car with my mind."

“And you’re worn out now so if I did something like this-” Jack went to spin the wheel when Rose grabbed the wheel, keeping the Outrnner on the straight and narrow.

"Then I can just do this," Rose said with a smirk.

Jack looked at her disdainfully. “You really are a killjoy, you know that?” He took back the wheel and Rose slumped into her seat.

“And you’re an asshole.” Rose reached into the backseat with an open palm. Angel high-fived her hesitantly.

"Betrayed once again by my own family. Great. Loving this War."

* * *

The drive had been going on for quite some time with extremely brief breaks escorted by Jack with Rose’s pistol. Angel had just recently fallen asleep and Rose was on her way. The only thing keeping her up right now is not being able to turn off her brain for a few seconds. Too much has happened in too quick successions. 

Jack still hasn’t told her what happened to the Vault Hunters or the rest of Sanctuary if they made it at all. She’s sure they could make it through, they’ve definitely been through worse, but. . . . Rose doesn’t know. She really doesn’t. That’s what scares her.

"Hey," Jack called out softly. "You holding up okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Go ahead and sleep if you're tired."

“I’m fine, Jack,” Rose repeated. “Just because I have a spear lodged in me doesn’t mean I’m helpless.”

“A limp on Pandora is a death sentence, Rose. Shouldn’t you know that?”

"It's not a death sentence. Just means you're gonna lose that leg."

"I will make 'all right' jokes all day if that happens. You know that, right?"

“With the way my life was going on Eden-6? I think I’ve heard them all in preparation.”

"I've been meaning to ask why Eden-6 of all places when you left Pandora?"

“Promethea was war torn and after spending enough time with Vaughn I decided it’d be best to avoid Rhys. Athenas is nice, but it’s too quiet. Junpai-7 is too expensive and I wasn’t going back to Pandora so Eden-6 was my best bet. Besides, I could swing over to the Jakobs and stay with them for a drink.”

"You could've-"

"I would be damned if I turned myself over to Hyperion."

“C’mon, you’re telling me you didn’t miss the amazing apartments? Specifically mine, but yours too, I guess.”

“Not particularly. Sure the view was nice, but they were too cold. In more ways than one.”

". . . Not mine though, right?" Rose shook her head.

“Jack, when are you going to accept the old days are gone? I’m not Hyperion anymore and I don’t plan to be ever again.” 

Jack went quiet for a moment. "Did I scare you off?"

“It was a lot of things, Jack. The fact I’m a wanted woman of them still, your corporate lackeys no doubt wanting to be the new CEO and willing to kill me to get that, the inevitable bombardment of ‘what Handsome Jack was like’ and having to bite my tongue in order to not have my throat slit. And that’s not counting all the creeps there. I mean, who’s idea was it to use my dismembered hand for an exhibit at my museum?”

". . . How do you know about that?"

“I told you, the BUNK3R wasn’t my one and only stop while time travelling. Got a little lost in the middle. I ran into you twice and even had a reunion with Nisha.”

"Oh, shit."

“Yeah. Oh, shit. Before you ask, she wasn’t much different. Threatened my life, said some innuendos, kissed me a little, usual Nisha stuff.”

"Still, I'd probably give anything to see her again."

“Trust me. A partner coming back to life isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be. It’s not. . . right somehow. Nothing feels right.” Silence trickled in. 

Jack glanced over at Rose. "What's going on with us?"

Rose sighed. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know."

“How about this then. If we get out of this somehow and the War ends what’re you gonna do with me? Cast me aside? Leave the Vault Hunters to deal with me?” Rose refused to look at him as he spoke. “Or are you going to come with me?”

"I can't do that, Jack."

“And why not? What’s stopping you from running away with me and Angel?”

“There is no you and Angel. She’s tolerating you now, but once her life is no longer depending on sticking with you, she’s gone. And I’m going to have to follow.”

Jack said nothing for an instant. "You really took a liking to her, huh?"

“Trauma bonds people more than anything. I think that’s honestly why the Crimson Raiders haven’t broken off for this long. She’s been hurt by someone she loved. Really hurt. And she’s done everything in her power to fight against it.”

"You think I can ever make up for it?"

“You can definitely try.” Rose looked over at the window beside her as they sped through a canyon, her eyes becoming heavy. The call of sleep was becoming louder and louder. It kinda sounded like. . . a thrumming of an engine. They passed the canyon and just before Rose’s eyes closed she spotted a Technical heading right toward them. “Jack, look out!” It was too late. The Technical T-boned the Outrunner. The Handsome Jack pack was out of commission.

* * *

Rose awoke in pain. She fought to keep her eyes open as she looked over to Jack, unconscious. Behind her was Angel who was thankfully waking up.

"What's going on?"

“Got in a wreck. Get out of the car, we’re going to have to move.” Without saying anything else, she opened the car door on her left, grabbed the duffel bag of medical supplies, and climbed out. Meanwhile Rose unbuckled her seatbelt and clambered out of her carseat much to the dismay of her aching body. Rose peered down at herself, unbuttoning Jack’s jacket. Just as she expected, she’s bleeding through the bandages. Pressing a hand to her wound, Rose kept moving until she was out of the car. 

When she was on her feet she limped over to the driver door and opened it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m an injured Siren, you’re sick, we need his help. Whether we like it or not.”

"We can figure it out-"

“Angel, if your father wasn’t here with us I would’ve bled out by now and you would’ve been left to the Guardians. We need him.” Angel frowned while Rose pulled him out of the seat. Angel opened her mouth to say something when the familiar noise of a gun clicking emitted from behind them. The girls turned to see

_August, September, October. . . ._

Angel took Rose's side, clinging to her in fright. "You wrecked my car."

"It was an accident-"

“We’re in the middle of another planet takeover and you just destroyed the one thing that’s kept me alive.” He glanced over at Jack who was resting on her shoulder and placed his finger on the trigger. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

“It wouldn’t solve anything. Unless you can straighten that frame of our car you’ll still be without transportation.” August continued to glare. “You’d also kill a family.”

“Killing Handsome Jack’s family isn’t exactly going to weigh on my conscience.”

“He’s not Handsome Jack.” August gave Rose an incredulous look. “He’s a doppelganger, his body was physically altered to look like him. His name is Timothy Lawrence.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Prove it.” Rose thought swiftly and decided to take a gamble. She unclasped Jack’s mask, showing his scar.

“Handsome Jack got a scar from opening the Vault on Elpis. He had to mark all of the other doppelgangers after that. But, because they’re genetically and physically altered their skin reacts differently to burns. It ended up turning blue after the branding.” Rose waited for an agonizing moment, hoping that her lie was good enough to keep them alive.

Gradually, August lowered his gun. "Siren's have tech powers, right?"

"I at least do."

"Great. You're gonna get me a free car."

“I’ll do that willingly, all I have to ask of you is to carry my husband.”

"Can't do it yourself?"

"I wouldn't be asking you if I could."

August sighed. “Fine. Bring him here.” Rose limped over with Jack and handed him to August who gave her a firm look. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

“I don’t think so.” Rose limped away from August and came to Angel’s side.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

“No. Stay close to me.” Angel took Rose’s hand and the three walked in complete silence.

“You from around here?” It was unclear if August was trying to make polite conversation or the silence was truly too awkward for him to bear.

"Not here. I lived in Hollowpoint mostly."

“Wouldn’t have happened to see an Irish man there named Zane Flynt recently?”

Rose paused. "I saw him a few times boarding Sanctuary, why?"

"He's my uncle."

_. . . August, Rose's future nephew._

Rose suppressed her surprise. She really should’ve seen it coming just by looking at August. Or maybe she shouldn’t have given his accent. . . . Wait a minute, what Flynt has a consistent accent?

"No. Don't think I've seen him since this started."

August sighed. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Scraped through worse,” he murmured.

"Well, he's a Flynt, right? That family doesn't die easily."

“Yeah, if you don’t count my uncle Captain, Baron, my cousin Sparky, or my mom.”

Rose bit the inside of her lip. “Point taken. . . . But, I mean, he’s actively living on Pandora in his forties and hasn’t keeled over yet. Odds seem to be in his favor.”

“Sure.” They trudged on through the sand when Jack started to awake.

“Rose. . . Rose. . . .” She acted quick, walking just behind August to face Jack.

“Tim. Tim, hey, look at me.” Jack’s eyebrows furrowed, but thankfully he didn’t interrupt Rose as she subtly caught him up. “We got into a bit of a wreck and now this nice man is taking us to the nearest Catch-a-Ride.” Jack read Rose’s panicked eyes slowly but surely.

For once in a long time it seemed like Jack was considering what was about to come out of his mouth. “. . . Could he set me down?”

“With pleasure.” August more or less dropped him and Rose helped him up. The Flynt kept moving while the Jack pack lagged behind.

Jack took his mask from Rose's hands and pulled it on, clamping the edges down as he smoothed down the synthetic material. "The hell's going on?"

Rose saw him struggling with the chin clasp and clicked it on for him. "Told him you were Timothy and we were a family in order to not get us killed."

"Seriously?"

"Just play along and try not to be yourself."

“I generally like people walking with me unless you three don’t want to be walking anymore," August warned.

“We’re coming,” Jack called. He took Rose’s arm and placed it around his shoulders in order for her to lean on him. She didn’t protest. Angel hovered around Rose, trying to keep distance with Jack. “Who is this dude, anyway?” he whispered.

"Zane's nephew." Jack gave August a second once over.

“Sure it’s not a kid he forgot to tell you about? ‘Cause I looked him up and let’s say there’s a space station out there for every spouse he’s got.”

"I knew that going in, jackoff."

"And you still went with him? I mean, honestly, Rosebud-"

“You might want to stop arguing with each other,” Angel piped in. “Neither of you are exactly subtle.”

"This conversation isn't over," Rose said.

"It never is." There was quiet once again among the estranged sort of family.

“So, how the hell did you wind up with a doppelganger? You a Jack fan?”

Rose laughed. “God, no! The man’s a narcissistic piece of shit.” Jack looked over at Rose, desperately wanting to give her a look, but thinking better of it. “I actually met Timothy in my brief time in Hyperion. He spilled coffee all over me and just kept apologizing over and over. I knew it wasn’t him from the get-go, isn’t that right, honey?”

"Mhm."

August regarded Rose’s statement with an eyebrow raise. “A Siren working at Hyperion?”

"This is actually a new development."

"Really? Thought they were just born with it or somethin'."

"Sometimes it can be passed down directly."

"Huh. Seems like people are just handing them out these days."

Rose chuckled. "You're telling me."

August peered over at the three. “Either of them talk or. . . ?”

“Takes a while for Tim to get adjusted to people and Angel’s just naturally shy. Especially around people that held her at gunpoint only a few minutes ago.”

“It’s a Pandoran greeting. Gotta learn her roots, huh?” Rose grabbed onto the back of Jack’s collar to keep him back and Angel in turn took Rose’s hand and held her tight. It wasn’t much, but it was enough of a gesture to tell Rose that it wasn’t worth it.

Fortunately for the Jack pack, the Catch-a-Ride was in view just down hill. But, as always, there was a catch. Crawling across the station was a massive amount of Guardians. “Oh, shit,” August cursed.

"Language."

"Think you can call a car from here?" August asked.

Rose looked out at the station and chewed on her cheek. She’s felt drained ever since calling the Outrunner and she’s especially weak now. Jack saw her apprehension and left her side for a moment.

“Angel, sweetie, mind handing me the med bag?” Angel grasped the medical bag, staring at Jack apprehensively. “Your mom needs it.” Her fingers twitched anxiously, looking from the bag to Rose.

August was watching the whole awkward exchange and Rose knew. She also knew that there was no way they’ll be getting a car without attempting to fight a whole horde of Guardians, something Rose nor Angel were capable of doing. Not to mention August and Jack were low in firearms and ammo.

“It’s okay, Angel,” Rose assured. “Give the bag to your father.” Hesitantly, Angel handed the bag to Jack. He unzipped it and pulled out a syringe filled Eridium. He flicked it with a practiced hand, slightly pushing down on the plunger before approaching Rose.

“It’ll be faster if I inject it into your neck, arm’s second best, but it’s dealer choice.” Rose didn’t look at Jack, only staring out into the horizon. “This is all your choice.”

Rose sighed. “No. It isn’t. Never has been.” She tilted her head to the side, allowing Jack access to her neck. 

Frowning, he got to work. “Want me to count you down?”

Rose sucked in a breath. "Sure."

“Okay. On three. One.” Jack administered the Eridium. It felt like Rose’s veins were on fire, screaming out for help before mellowing out into a kind of high-powered adrenaline kick.

“Oh, that works fast!” she exclaimed, her heart about to pound its way out of her chest. She exhaled slowly, a laugh bubbling it’s way up her throat mid-way through. “Oh, wow, this is- this is-”

“Uh, Rose?” She looked down, seeing Jack, Angel, and August staring up in astonishment and. . . fear. She registered the beating of the air against her back. She peered over her left shoulder, seeing a white feathery wing behind her. She looked over the right and saw a golden one.

“Holy fuck. Ho-ly fuck.” Rose turned completely around, trying to get a better view, nearly losing her balance altogether.

“Uh, lady, might wanna wrap it up, kinda the only glowing, flying thing here,” August warned, glancing over at the pack of Guardians that were just now growing interest in Rose.

“Right, right, right.” She turned around once again, lifting up both her arms and focusing on the Catch-a-Ride. Instead of one voice now, however, she was hearing multiple- thousands. The little adrenaline high was slowly starting to twist while Rose’s ears filled with screams and cries for help from all sorts of unfamiliar voices. She tensed, her breath being caught in her throat.

"The hell's happening?!" August asked in outrage.

Jack gave him a look before grabbing onto Rose’s ankle. “Rosebud.” She looked down and for an instant saw that grizzled face rising from the ash and ruin. “Come back to me, Rosie.” She jumped away from Jack traveling higher into the air, her breathing becoming short. “Rose, c’mon, it’s me.”

“I’m not going back! I’m never going back!” she cried, finally sending the Guardians into flight.

“Oh, shit! Come on! Hit the deck, kid!” August took out his gun and started firing. Angel - no longer wanting to feel helpless - took Rose’s gun from Jack’s hip and started firing. Jack turned around, trying desperately to pry the gun from her hands. Meanwhile Rose was trying to block out the million and one voices as a Guardian lurched for her.

It was a desperate scene with Rose grappling an alien, Angel violently pushing Jack away, and August being swarmed by Guardians. It didn’t seem like any of them were going to make it when one clear voice rang out amongst the cacophony of noise.

“Heads up!” That was all the warning Maya had given before a buzz axe embedded deep within the Guardian’s head. It fell limp, Rose grabbed the buzz axe, dropped the corpse, and dove down into the crowd alongside a certain psycho. Krieg cackled joyously, ripping the aliens to pieces. At the edges of it all, deep blue hands erupted from the sand, holding enemies in a vice grip. Some found themselves caught in a small, black hole before being riddled with bullets.

Once the hill was clear, Rose tossed the buzz axe to Krieg. “I see why you like that thing.”

Krieg grunted in agreement. "Makes many divisions."

"What? You two buddies?" Jack asked.

"Crimson Raider."

Jack shook his head. “Just when I think I’ve seen everything.”

A thrumming engine turned everyone’s attention downhill to the Technical drifting into the space. Amara stuck her head out of the window, smiling up at Rose.

"Need a ride?"

There was a bit of a pause. “Do I get to come with?” August asked.

Amara looked over at August and squinted. “Zane’s nephew?”

"Yep."

“Grab on.” Without hesitation, August slid down the sandy slope and grabbed onto the back of the car. Right behind him was Krieg who seemed to be as excited as ever to ride at the back of the Technical.

Rose glanced up at Angel and Jack then climbed up, pushing Jack away from her and giving Angel a stern look. The girl handed Rose’s pistol to the rightful owner.

“You shouldn’t be going around shooting without having practice.” She looked at Jack. “And you should know you don’t try to pry a loaded gun out of someone’s hands.” He opened his mouth to speak and she stopped him. “Put a pin in it. We’re going.” Rose took Angel’s hand and walked toward the Technical, Jack lagging behind for once.

"Rose," Angel said.

"Yeah?"

"You're not limping." Rose looked down at her bandages and pulled them down slightly. 

"Not bleeding anymore either. Eridium usually does this?"

“Yes. Wears you down over time, though. You came in just in time to get me.”

"Still feeling sick?"

“I’m still cold at the very least.” Rose pressed the back of her hand to Angel’s forehead. 

She frowned slightly. “You should get some rest during the drive.” The two arrived at the Technical.

"Where are we going?"

Amara cut in. "Somewhere safe."


End file.
